Tuition As Immigration Issue
By Suzanne Pardington, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.
Dec. 6–A panel of students, faculty and administrators is pushing a proposal to charge in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students at Oregon’s public universities.
The idea, which has never made it out of the Legislature, is being considered today and Friday by the State Board of Higher Education as a way to attract more diverse students to the state’s seven, largely white campuses.
Tuition is three times higher for undocumented students, a financial barrier that prevents many Oregon high school graduates from attending college, supporters say.
“It seemed to us that it was a reasonable position to take to encourage the students to get an education, to contribute to the economy and for us to do what we can to assist that,” said Dalton Miller-Jones, a state board member and Portland State University professor who heads the panel.
Whether taxpayers should help illegal immigrants earn a college degree is part of the national debate over illegal immigration that looms large in next year’s presidential race.
About 10 states, including California and Washington, allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition. Some other states, such as Arizona and Colorado, have gone the opposite direction, tightening their tuition rules for illegal immigrants.
Oregon’s State Board of Higher Education has the power to change the tuition rules but has held off in the past to gain legislative approval, said Neil Bryant, a former legislator who lobbies for the university system. The Legislature and the governor control state funding for higher education and could reverse any changes the board makes.
“We go to the Legislature for a whole variety of things, and you want to have a good positive relationship with them,” said Bryant, former state senator.
Rep. Linda Flores, R-Clackamas, who opposes the idea, said she would be “very disappointed” if the State Board of Higher Education goes around the Legislature to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.
“People are very concerned about services and benefits being provided to people who are not here legally,” she said. “It’s just a matter of fairness to the taxpayers of this state.”
Universities don’t track how many students or applicants are illegal immigrants. Latino students, most of whom are in the United States legally, make up 4 percent of enrollment in the public university system and 10 percent of the state population.
Lorena Landeros, a senior at the University of Oregon, said it’s unfair that some graduates of Oregon high schools can’t afford to go to college because of their immigration status. She had several friends in that position when she graduated from Junction City High School, she said.
“They were great students. They were better students than I was,” she said.
Any student who meets admission requirements can attend Oregon’s public universities, regardless of whether they are in the country legally or not. Students are asked on their applications whether they are a United States citizen for tuition purposes, but the universities usually don’t verify whether they are telling the truth.
“From a moral standpoint, if we’re going to do background checks, you have to do them for everybody,” said Dave McDonald, associate provost of Western Oregon University.
Students who are not citizens are considered international and are not eligible for in-state tuition or financial aid. They must have an appropriate visa to attend the state universities.
The estimated annual tuition and fees at the University of Oregon are $6,174 for in-state students and $19,338 for international and out-of-state students.
Agnes Hoffman, associate vice provost at PSU, said paying higher tuition is a “tremendous barrier” to undocumented students who want to go to college.
“We know that the Hispanic population is growing tremendously, and we aren’t keeping up with the rate at colleges and universities, and that’s not good for our economy and that’s not good for our communities,” she said.
The proposal is one of a dozen recommendations by a board subcommittee charged with finding strategies to boost the numbers and graduation rates of minority, rural and other under-represented students on Oregon campuses. Other ideas include better training for K-12 teachers, expanding Advanced Placement courses in high schools and increasing mentoring and support programs.
Board members will discuss their priorities at a retreat starting today in Portland. They will not vote on whether to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants at the meeting.
Hannah Fisher, a PSU student and state board member, said offering in-state tuition is not an immigration issue.
“It’s about students who graduated from an Oregon high school who can’t go to college in Oregon for an appropriate price,” she said. “It’s kids who are already here and have made a contribution to the Oregon community.”
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