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R.I. legislature to vote on offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants
Jeff Sullivan
Issue date: 3/10/09 Section: News
03/10/09 -The Rhode Island General Assembly held a hearing Thursday concerning a current immigration bill that would allow non-U.S. citizens living in Rhode Island to pay in-state tuition at state colleges.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Grace Diaz, states any illegal immigrant that is living in Rhode Island and has attended Rhode Island schools would qualify to pay in-state tuition rates. Diaz said the hearing garnered a great amount of support, and she is extremely hopeful about the bill's potential journey to legislation.
During the hearing, Diaz testified to the bill's necessity, and also had many immigrant students testify for the bill. Diaz said one student who came from Brazil had a particular impact on her. The student has to wait a year before she gets her social security number and becomes a legal resident of Rhode Island, and in that time would have to pay out-of-state tuition, according to Diaz.
"[The student] said, 'I love Rhode Island, more than the country in which I was born," Diaz added.
Diaz said it was unfair that this student and others like her have to pay three times the tuition of any other Rhode Island resident to continue her education, and this bill, if passed, would remedy that.
"My bill is very clear that if families and students want to pay [in-state] tuition, they don't represent any expenses for the state," Diaz said.
The Rhode Island Immigration Law Enforcement organization opposes this bill, saying that it is in conflict with U.S. federal law.
"It's against two federal laws," Executive Director Terry Gorman said.
One of the laws he was referring to, listed as Title 8, Aliens and Nationality, Section 8 USC 1324, states that it is against the law to aide, hire or abet any illegal immigrant.
"If a student, according to what the bill says, applies to URI, they have to admit that they are an illegal alien," Gorman said. "URI would be complicit in allowing them to attend, because if they in fact discovered they were an illegal alien, [URI] would have to turn them in to the authorities."
The bill, introduced by Rep. Grace Diaz, states any illegal immigrant that is living in Rhode Island and has attended Rhode Island schools would qualify to pay in-state tuition rates. Diaz said the hearing garnered a great amount of support, and she is extremely hopeful about the bill's potential journey to legislation.
During the hearing, Diaz testified to the bill's necessity, and also had many immigrant students testify for the bill. Diaz said one student who came from Brazil had a particular impact on her. The student has to wait a year before she gets her social security number and becomes a legal resident of Rhode Island, and in that time would have to pay out-of-state tuition, according to Diaz.
"[The student] said, 'I love Rhode Island, more than the country in which I was born," Diaz added.
Diaz said it was unfair that this student and others like her have to pay three times the tuition of any other Rhode Island resident to continue her education, and this bill, if passed, would remedy that.
"My bill is very clear that if families and students want to pay [in-state] tuition, they don't represent any expenses for the state," Diaz said.
The Rhode Island Immigration Law Enforcement organization opposes this bill, saying that it is in conflict with U.S. federal law.
"It's against two federal laws," Executive Director Terry Gorman said.
One of the laws he was referring to, listed as Title 8, Aliens and Nationality, Section 8 USC 1324, states that it is against the law to aide, hire or abet any illegal immigrant.
"If a student, according to what the bill says, applies to URI, they have to admit that they are an illegal alien," Gorman said. "URI would be complicit in allowing them to attend, because if they in fact discovered they were an illegal alien, [URI] would have to turn them in to the authorities."
