As a bill that would grant illegal immigrants in-state tuition works its way through the state legislature, several student groups plan to push the SGA to back the measure at its own meeting tonight.
State Senate Bill 167, which passed with a 27-20 vote Monday night and moved to the House of Delegates, would allow undocumented students who attended high school in the state to pay in-state tuition at public four-year colleges and universities, provided they also meet a slew of other criteria.
Last semester, the Student Government Association endorsed a similar piece of federal legislation — the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, which would grant permanent residency to illegal immigrants who attended U.S. high schools in exchange for two years of college attendance or military service. It failed to pass in December during Congress’s lame-duck session.
No students spoke out against the DREAM Act in the fall, and nearly 100 students came to urge the SGA to support it. Legislators said they expect tonight’s showing to be just as strong as the body debates a resolution that would support the state version of the bill.
Several cultural student groups — including the Asian American Student Union, the Latino Student Union, Community Roots and Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity — plan to attend, AASU member Camden Lee said.
“It’s an important issue because it’s about access to higher education,” Lee said. “These young people really want to pursue a higher education, and there shouldn’t be barriers there to prevent them from accessing that.”
If the bill is passed, undocumented students will receive in-state tuition if they complete 60 community college credits and apply for permanent residency within 30 days of enrolling in a public institution.
SGA arts and humanities legislator Jacob Crider, the bill’s sponsor, said he has been working with student groups to advocate for this bill both on the campus and in Annapolis.
“We, as students, understand and recognize that a lot of these students that are not able to attend our university are our classmates and our peers,” Crider said, noting many undocumented students are unable to pursue higher education for financial reasons.
Jose Centeno-Melendez, LSU vice president of finance and LUL community service chairman, said this is an issue that will always be prevalent, regardless of the bill’s final outcome.
“You have a lot of undocumented immigrants in the Maryland area, and they’re not gonna go anywhere,” Centeno-Melendez said. “They’re not trying to get free or discounted cars or anything; they’re trying to get an education, which is something everybody wants.”
And student voices weigh heavily on the votes of SGA members, journalism legislator Michelle Chan said.
“I think having so many student groups and students voice their opinions to the SGA is really important because it lets legislators know that what they say matters,” said Chan, one of the bill’s co-sponsors.
Although having such an overwhelming audience turns up the heat on legislators, behavioral and social sciences legislator Zach Cohen — a vocal opponent of the bill — said he welcomed student input.
“It puts pressure on people that might not support it to really have to defend their vote, which I think is a great thing, because if you’re going to take a position on something as controversial as this, you should have to stand up and defend what you believe,” Cohen said.
And Crider agreed, noting that the federal DREAM Act was once considered a non-issue on the campus.
“We, as students, need to be able to take a stance on issues that are important to us — regardless of what other people might think,” he said.
While Chan was speaking to concerned students, she said one issue that arose was the burden a possible influx of students — who would all be paying the cheaper tuition — would put on the University System of Maryland. But Chan said the high number of students who would benefit from this bill is the more important factor to consider.
“I think that the expanding of educational opportunities is so important that it just completely overshadows that,” Chan said.
But Cohen disagreed, listing monetary concerns as one of his main points of opposition. If implemented, the law is estimated to cost about $800,000 next year and could increase to $3.5 million by 2016.
“The fiscal note as it stands now … would put a multimillion-dollar burden on the University System of Maryland,” Cohen said.
But Cohen added he is simply against the principle of the bill, in addition to its price tag.
“I don’t think that illegal immigrants should get in-state tuition,” Cohen said. “People that have been living here legally and doing everything right should certainly have the same rights as citizens of the United States.”
Cohen said the SGA’s legislation will likely be amended to match the state legislation if it is revised in the state House.
meehan at umdbk dot com
