Senate approves in-state tuition for illegal [aliens] immigrants
Article subtitle:
“These Americans in waiting..." Sen. Angela Giron, D
Article publisher:
The Gazette
Article date:
22 February 2013
Article category:
Colorado News
Medium
Article Body:
Illegal immigrants who graduate from Colorado high schools would be eligible for in-state tuition under a bill that won preliminary approval Friday in the Senate ...
“These Americans in waiting have worked hard, earned good grades and colleges have accepted them,” Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo, said. “We need them to get to work and earn a degree. We’ve already invested in their education.”
Colorado lawmakers have been trying for nearly a decade to join neighboring states in offering less expensive tuition for undocumented students who otherwise would have to pay out-of-state rates.
Opponents of the bill, including Sen. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, called it dishonest not to disclose the cost to taxpayers of subsidizing college education for students. Lambert requested a new fiscal note examining how much will be lost if students who otherwise would have had to pay out-of-state tuition start paying less.
Three Republican senators supported the bill, Owen Hill of Colorado Springs, Greg Brophy of Wray and Larry Crowder of Alamosa ...
“It’s time to realize that we are a melting pot, and I think we need to progress into this situation,” Crowder said. But he (Senator Larry Crowder R) agreed the bill would cost the state money.
More than 7,000 undocumented Colorado residents have applied for deferred status – a recent legal status granted to illegal immigrants by a presidential order. The status gives students two years with a work visa and without the fear of deportation. It can be extended to four years.
CAIRCO Research
-April 15, 2011- ASSET, Instate tuition
“I do have family members who are undocumented,” Giron said