Bill wants to let illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition

Written by Jeffrey Wolf9News February 4, 2009If passed by the state legislature, a new law would mean illegal immigrants in Colorado would be able to go to college and pay in-state tuition.
Senate Bill 170, proposed by Sen. Chris Romer (D-Denver), would let undocumented students pay the same tuition rate as resident students at public universities like the University of Colorado or Colorado State University.
The bill stipulates that in order to qualify for in-state tuition, high school students would have to have gone to a Colorado public or private high school for three years, have graduated from a public or private Colorado high school, or get a general equivalency diploma (GED), and they would have to enroll in a Colorado higher learning institution within five years of earning their high school degree.
Ten other states in the U.S. have passed similar legislation within the past 10 years.
The bill has been endorsed by the University of Northern Colorado Board of Trustees, the Boulder Valley School District and Denver Public Schools.
"Students with a college education are more productive and more likely to be civically engaged," Romer said in a news release. "Passing this legislation will help keep us economically competitive with our neighboring states and give these kids the chance to give back to the Colorado communities where they have grown up."
Federal law mandates that all children, regardless of immigration status, receive a kindergarten through high school education.
Supporters of the bill say that education is wasted if those students can't go on to higher education.
Sen. Dave Schultheis, a longtime proponent of greater restrictions on illegal immigration, told 9NEWS' partners at The Denver Post that the bill would just invite lawsuits from out-of-state students who would want the in-state tuition rate as well.
"I will seek students that will sue, frankly," Schultheis (R-Colorado Springs) said. "This is totally opposed to what I believe the citizens of Colorado want to see happen."
"Why UNC is coming out in favor of this I don't know, unless they just want more students and more tuition dollars," he said.