In-state tuition for illegal immigrants in other states has been controversial and led to lawsuits

April 06, 2011 at 4:49 pm

By Glynis Kazanjian
For MarylandReporter.com

By Jobs for Justice

When the full House of Delegates begins debating and amending bills on Thursday that would grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, they may be starting down what other states have found to be a thorny path.

Currently 10 states offer in-state college tuition rates to illegal immigrant students: Texas, California, Utah, New York, Washington, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

In 2003, Oklahoma passed a law allowing illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition. It was repealed by legislation in 2008. State Rep. Randy Terrill, a Republican who authored the bill, said the decision was based on several principles, not just the cost of subsidizing the in-state tuition.

“States ought not to be in the business of subsidizing illegal aliens,” said Terrill, making arguments similar to those used by Maryland opponents. “Every one dollar you make available to an illegal immigrant is one dollar you are not giving to one of your citizens. To grant illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates directly discriminates against non-resident U.S. citizens from surrounding states. That is a direct violation of the equal protection clause.”

Oklahoma also passed bills in both houses that would disqualify children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants. A final bill is not expected to make it to the governor’s desk.

“It will either be softened or sidetracked,” said an Oklahoma official in the Department of State Finance who requested anonymity.

This year, legislators in Washington, Nebraska, Kansas and Texas tried to repeal their in-state tuition laws.  However, legislative efforts failed in all but Texas, which still has active repeal bills in both legislative houses.

Utah also tried to strengthen eligibility requirements. Utah’s bill, which would have required tuition recipients to pay income tax, died in the state Senate. The proposed Maryland law already contains a similar requirement.

Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and South Carolina have laws specifically prohibiting illegal immigrants from receiving in-state tuition, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Lawsuits filed

There are at least three pending lawsuits outside of Maryland that are challenging colleges for being out of compliance with federal law by allowing illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition. The lawsuits claim the state laws violated the federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which “prohibits states from providing a postsecondary education benefit to an alien not lawfully present in the United States on the basis of residence unless any U.S. citizen or national is eligible for the same benefit.”

The most notable case, Robert Martinez v. Regents of the University of California, is a class action suit in California state court. Kris Kobach represents the plaintiffs on behalf of the Immigration Reform Law Institute. Kobach has since been elected Kansas Secretary of State. The case has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and a decision on whether the justices will hear it is expected in late spring, Kobach said.

Kobach is also behind a second suit, Mannschreck v. Regents of the University of Nebraska, which was filed in Nebraska court. Kobach said the plaintiffs were required to seek relief from a federal agency before the case can proceed, and the case is on hold until the U.S. Justice Department decides if it will offer them anything. The Department of Justice did not respond to inquiries about the lawsuit.

The defendants argue that because they went to high school in the state, they can receive in-state tuition, Kobach said. This is a loophole; the law prohibits using residency to determine eligibility.

The third suit, Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas v. State of Texas (University of Houston), is scheduled to have its next hearing in Harris County District Court on June 13.

Kobach said if Maryland passes in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, the state will be doing a disservice to the citizens of Maryland.

“One, [Marylanders] are going to be spending a lot of money subsidizing the in-state tuition rates of illegal aliens,” Kobach said. “The amount of money will depend on how many illegal aliens take advantage of it. You can go from a low of around $1.1 million, which is what Kansas spends every year, to a high of around $208 million, which is what California now spends.”

Three Montgomery County taxpayers are suing Montgomery College for providing county rates to illegal immigrants students who graduated from county high schools.

If the legislation passes, Gov. Martin O’Malley is likely to sign it, said spokesman Shaun Adamec. Opponents have said they may try to petition the law to referendum if it is signed.


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  • Abigail Adams

    The Democratic pandering to O’Malley’s New Americans will continues unabated. I agree that each dollar spent on illegals from any country is a dollar stolen from the legal residents of MD.

  • Karlpfrommer

    Are these student aliens unable to get legal status? If they are, why don’t they apply. If they arn’t, we should deport them. I must be missing something. It’s too simple.

    • http://twitter.com/justdafacts Steve Lebowitz

      Here’s what you’re missing, Karlpfrommer:

      Most of these students were brought here as young children, and they’ve grown up American. Their parents have paid taxes, we’ve educated them in our schools as the Supreme Court decided in Plyler v. Doe (1982), and now they want to go to college so they can become productive adults and American citizens.

      To deport these students, as you suggest, would be a grave injustice because, having grown up American, they are often alien to the language and culture of the country where they were born. The Supreme Court said in Plyler, “these children can neither affect their parents’ conduct nor their own undocumented status.”

      Ten states recognize these students are an innocent party in the immigration debate and grant them the same educational opportunities provided to all other graduates of instate high schools. Let’s hope Maryland becomes the eleventh state.

      - Steve Lebowtiz, Annapolis

      • Steve Hampton

        Then Mexico should be required to pay for all our students and pay for all our children ? Do you think Mexico would support and pay for ANY illegal immigrants or their offspring in their Country ? If an illegal immigrant broke in your house, and refused to leave your bedroom, would you pay for everything for them and their family members ? If not, why should WE be FORCED to support 12-20 Million illegal immigrants many of which purposely enter illegally , already pregnant to suck our tax base dry for 18 years ? Did you know the 14th Amnedment was designed for African Americans that were forced here. But due to a “loop hole” in its drafting 200 years ago, some slick criminal supporting illegal immigrant lawyer made it possible for 300,000 Anchor Babies a year to ABUSE our tax payers…. Do you think Mexico pays for even one American ? The Libtards only want to support criminal illegal immigrants for votes. Lets all be honest. The Libtard Democrats do not care about America’s future, Heritage, language…. Its all about power, even if it ruins America.

      • Bob

        The Constitution, Steve. Read it sometime. You may learn something.

      • Guest

        Maybe you haven’t had to watch your child work so hard to get accepted to college, and work even harder to pay those hefty bills. If my child, an american citizen, could have recieved in-state tuition for schools out-of-state, she could have gone to so many more schools. But the out-of-state tutions were too steep, so I find it hard to give a student those lower tution rates just because of their legal status. Why do people think the government should put illegal aliens before hard-working American students?

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VUZ5UR7HOI26X7LW4TT65VVNT4 greg

        Steve ,maybe you should adopt an illegal child or two, I know you wouldn’t mind paying the extra freight ! You’re a moron

      • TESOL Teacher in Baltimore

        I agree with you, Steve.  If these kids have worked hard in high school and their parents have paid taxes, then why shouldn’t they be allowed to go to their local community college (they’re not getting in for free, mind you) at the same tuition rate as their high school classmates?  They may be the children of illegals, but why should they be punished for something they had no control over?  This law was passed for a good reason, to help make this generation of students productive, tax-paying citizens.  How can that be a bad thing?  Two wrongs don’t make a right.

  • Gome17

    Then go back home illegals. Get a job in your home country teaching English instead of complaining about all the law makers who are saying there is no money in America.

  • Krashdummie

    Suppose you stood in a long line for an extremely long time to obtain, for example, Super Bowl tickets. Then after you waiting quietly, patiently and not causing any disturbance or breaking any laws, say 5,000 people bum-rushed the gate and broke in before you and took all the seats available to those who had been waiting in line. There are many people waiting to to immigrate legally but our system is totally clogged with those who decided they didnot have to and were not going to follow any law and literally broke into the country. These gate stormers have no regard whatsoever for America. They are here for one thing: get money. This is not about making America a better place, it is about selfish people taking all they can get. These anchor babies of criminal trespassers may have had no say in their place of birth, but believe me, their parents surely did. The higher Court’s have found that there must be exceptional and extremely unusual hardship involved to the US born children before the parent’s deportation might be halted (if they are in proceedings). Sure, it is hard to go back to some of these countries, no doubt. A lot of them are truly ugly, but people move to other countries all the time. I sincerely wish more would strive as hard to better their native countries as they do rip off ours. Breaking the laws you don’t feel apply to you, stealing from and/or taking full financial advantage of programs paid for by others and not intended for you just because you “want something better for myself and my family” is a pretty lame excuse.

  • Anonymous

    Read the 1996 Federal Law. The law simply says you can not offer instate tuition to some one who is here illegally unless you offer the same tuition break to citizens of another state or foreign nationals who are here legally. The Federal law does not say the illegal alien students cannot go to school they just cannot receive a tuition break. What is the point of subsidizes someone’s education when again by Federal law they can not be employed once they finish school? These laws where put into to place to discourage illegal imigration. As far as there parents paying taxes, statistics show they recieve a lot more in social service dollars than they will pay in taxes. Most illegal aliens coming here are poorly educated and non skilled . That is a fact. You can not allow a large group of people into your country that are unskilled or poorly educated without expecting your schools ,hospitals and etc. ( social services to be overwhelmed) .We allow immigrant to come here legally at a rate of 1 million a year. It is wrong to allow illegal aliens to come here it hurts our country and just allows countries such as Mexico to treat there own citizens poorly while using our nation as a relief valve for there lack of caring for there own people. We have had had 7 amnesties couning the Reagon amnesty of 1986 amnesty does not work.

  • Near College Student

    When did people from OTHER countries become our responsibility? Illegals should be grateful they have recieved what education they have gotten here, and stop trying to change the system. I am appyling for college within the year, looking to go out of state, and I would love to recieve in-state rates, it would save me about 20 grand a year. But that’s not fair because I am not a legal resident of those states. So why is this any different for an illegal immigrant recieving that tution? I am a citizen, which should be a priority to the government funds. Call me ignorant, but I am directly affected and feel strongly about the subject. When applying for colleges, tution is a large factor. If all the illegals are allowed cheaper in-state tution and a lot of tax-paying citizen students still have the higher rates, we are paying more money for what reason? Because we are Americans? Also, so many dedicated American students come out of college with tremendous amounts of student debts. How is that fair to let a citizen assume that debt while the illegal student coasts through with less than half the costs?

    I understand both sides of this argument, but obviously I have a strong opinion. I think a way to create a solution to all the problems associated with immigrants (in healthcare, education, the job market) is to make the citizenship/visa certifications easier to obtain. I can understand how difficult it is due to the fact I have family from England who has been trying to legally move here for years. It has taken so long that their oldest child will turn 18 by the time the papers go through and the process will begin again for them. It’s difficult, but so are a lot of other things like paying for college. So it’s no excuse to mock the constituion by finding “loop holes” and take advantage of the country you are ILLEGALLY staying in.

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  • guest

    I have mixed views about this issue. Today I went to Montgomery College with a friend who is illegal who wants to take classes there.  He wanted to talk to the counselor about it, and I came with him. The counselor told him that MC values their students, but ESPECIALLY their international students. I thought this seemed strange, like they liked international students better than students born here.  I think it should be equal.  I had seen the same counselor before and although he helped me out some, I do feel that he spent more time with my friend and seemed very interested in helping him.  Maybe I’m being ridiculous.  

    My friend went to high school here, but did not come to America until he was 18 I believe.  (He graduated at 20).  So not all students under this bill grew up here, although that is the case for many of them–it’s not the case for all of them.  The rule for MD Dream act is if you graduated HIGH SCHOOL here, regardless of whether you came as a young child. That’s what many people don’t realize.

    I think I feel if they do this, then they should make cuts for out-of-state American students as well. It seems only fair. Also, even if illegal students get college educations–where will they get jobs? Most jobs that require a degree aren’t going to pay people under the table, if you know what I mean.  Perhaps we should focus on making it easier for illegal young adults who show promise to obtain visas and eventually residency/citizenship.  Even if they go to school–how can they get a job legally? By using a fake social security number?  The facts just don’t add up.  I don’t mean visas for every illegal young adult, I mean they would have to show promise–going to college, not getting in trouble with the law, etc.