Inappropriate Appropriation?
Should undocumented college students be eligible for in-state tuition rates?
At the moment, 12 states have answered yes to this question, but it could ultimately be a matter that is decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
California, Illinois, New York and nine other states have passed laws allowing undocumented immigrants to receive in-state tuition if they can satisfy certain requirements. The exact language of each law varies from state to state, but most require that the student attended a state high school for a certain number of years prior to college and either graduated from that school or received their GED.
But opponents of such measures say they reward people who broke the law while many law-abiding students are left paying out of state tuition rates that are often much higher.
Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State, is strongly opposed to the notion of undocumented students receiving in-state tuition rates. While he is perhaps best known for helping write Arizona’s SB1070 immigration law, Kobach has also been very vocal on the subject of tuition rates, filing lawsuits against California, Nebraska and his home state of Kansas to prevent lowered rates from going to undocumented students.
Kobach argues that these lowered rates aren’t just unfair, they are in violation of federal law. The core issue in his lawsuits and other challenges to these in-state tuition laws is the fact they potentially violate a law passed in 1996 that says an “alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit.”
States have defended their decision to allow in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants on the basis that the eligibility requirements are not based on residence within a state, as prohibited under the 1996 law, but on the basis that the student attended a state high school. Opponents claim this defense is merely using semantics to exploit a legal loophole.
In today’s Homeland Vignette clip, Kobach explains why he feels these measures are absurd and counter-productive:
In California, the state supreme court decided the in-state tuition law doesn’t violate federal restrictions. The U.S. Supreme Court could make a decision this week as to whether to hear the case or not.
In the meantime, 12 state legislatures have passed laws explicitly restricting undocumented immigrants from receiving in-state tuition rates, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Kansas House of Representatives recently passed HB2006, which would repeal the existing law granting in-state tuition to undocumented students. It was introduced in the Kansas Senate in February.
Do you think in-state tuition rates should be given to undocumented students?
Video edited by Dustin Karrer. Footage shot for the Homeland documentary series.
Category: Enforcement
