Bill giving Colorado illegal immigrants [aliens] in-state tuition passes test

Four years ago when two tearful, undocumented [illegal] high school students testified in favor of a bill to give illegal immigrants [illegal aliens] in-state tuition, supporters of the legislation had to hide the girls later because some opponents wanted to deport them.

But on Thursday, only one person showed up to testify against Senate Bill 33, a virtually identical bill that passed the Senate Education Committee on a 6-3 vote — even picking up one Republican vote from Sen. Owen Hill, a freshman from Colorado Springs...

After published reports that Hill, a member of the committee, said he would support the bill, a firestorm started on his Facebook page the last several days.

Former state Sen. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, a key supporter of Hill's in a GOP primary for the Senate seat, ripped him and said he "would not have endorsed" Hill had he known his position on the issue...

Legislative analysts estimate there are approximately 1,500 high school graduates each year in Colorado without legal immigration status, and of those, about 500 will attend college the first year the law takes effect. An additional 250 will take advantage of the new law each year after that until 2017, analysts predicted.

Based on those numbers, the new students would generate an additional $2 million in tuition for colleges and universities in the first year and $3 million the following year, money which also would be spent to educate those students. But because the 2013 version of the bill includes the College Opportunity Fund for the immigrant students, the state would spend $930,000 to subsidize the students the first year and $1.4 million the following year, the analysis said...

CAIRCO comments

It is patently obvious that the adage "follow the money" applies. Unfortunately, every subsidized classroom seat for illegal aliens displaces an American student from higher education in their home state.

It also should be noted that Sen Hill is extremely off-base when saying that "we are a nation of immigrants". He is not an immigrant, nor are the vast majority of our 300 million strong population. The United States is a nation of settlers, many of whom immigrated to our country to become Americans and settle our vast open spaces.

Read CAIRCO's testimony against giving tuition to illegal aliens.