Since 2001, Texas has allowed students in the country illegally to qualify for in-state tuition if they attend high school for at least three years before graduating. However, these students must sign an affidavit agreeing to seek legal status. Last week the Coordinating Board modified its rules to require colleges and universities to send reminders to illegal immigrants who pay in-state tuition that they promised to comply with the law.
Schools must remind the students annually and upon graduation of their obligation to apply for permanent resident status when they become eligible. The Coordinating Board said schools also must refer students to federal officials for instructions on how to achieve such status, according to an article in the Austin American-Statesman by the Associated Press. That last part reportedly has made some people nervous.
A few candidates for the Texas House and Senate this year have stated that the tuition benefit should be repealed in the next Regular Session of the Legislature. You may recall that Gov. Rick Perry's defense of the law proved to be controversial with many Republican primary voters.
From the article:
The coordinating board said more than 16,000 students qualified in the 2009-10 school year. Of those, about 4,400 attended a public university and about 12,000 attended a community or technical college.
And:
Coordinating board spokesman Dominic Chavez said the rule change did not grow out of the flare-up over immigration politics in the Republican primaries. The board began considering the change last summer, he said.
Luis Figueroa of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund said advocates for immigrants worry universities will urge students to contact federal agencies before consulting a lawyer.
Ainee Athar, a third-year anthropology student at the University of Texas, moved with her family to Texas from Pakistan 15 years ago and qualified for in-state tuition. She said yearly reminders about legal status are unnecessary.
"No one forgets that," she said.
Supporters of the tuition break said recipients might not be able to afford college without it. The average cost of tuition and fees at a four-year public university is about $7,000 for Texas residents and $17,000 for nonresidents. At community colleges, the average is about $1,400 for residents and $4,800 for nonresidents.
State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, a San Antonio Democrat who helped write the law, considers the rule change minor, and she isn't worried that it's the first step in an effort to repeal the law.
Comments