Georgia To Screen Colleges For Undocumented Immigrants

The University of Georgia system has moved to put in place regulations to ensure that illegal immigrants do not pay a cheaper in-state tuition at any of the system's schools.

Georgia lets undocumented students attend its colleges, but charges them the out-of-state rate.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has more on the proceedings:

A new committee will examine the most efficient and cost-effective ways to check the citizenship of all students, Board Chairman Robert Hatcher said. The committee, which includes five regents and four university presidents, will recommend by October ways to prevent or catch undocumented students from getting in-state tuition.

The board also passed two measures to allow colleges to screen student bodies for illegal immigrants and make sure they are being charged the correct tuition amount:

The first measure bars university presidents from granting in-state tuition waivers to undocumented students. The second gives colleges 60 days to review the applications of all students admitted to their institutions for the first time this coming fall to make sure undocumented students don't receive in-state tuition or any other aid prohibited under law.

The system's action comes in response to the case of Jessica Colotl, an undocumented student at Kennesaw State University who was discovered to be paying in-state tuition. The school was unaware of her immigrant status.

The system's board of regents says the new measures are "well within the law."

What's your take? Weigh in below.

Comments

[ameyer7]

04:09 PM on 06/28/2010

Illegals are ILLEGALLY in the country. Again, why should I have to pony up and pay for these people? This is long overdue.

[StinkyBush]

11:40 AM on 06/12/2010

Looks like Georgia put a moratorium on being smart and educated. They currently must have an excess of geniuses in the state. Now that is a shocker for the State of Georgia.

[conservo]

09:22 PM on 06/12/2010

Could you please explain to me why somebody from another state should pay more in tuition than somebody from another country--who is in this country ILLEGALLY?

[StinkyBush]

12:04 PM on 06/13/2010

If you read the article, it stated that they are charged the same amount. Read it again and let me know if I read it wrong.

[digitalpug]

10:54 AM on 06/12/2010

This is tricky. I live in Georgia and pay taxes. I had to go through college paying my way and could only do that because of reduced tuition for being a resident.This was during Jimmy Carter's era. Now, the current governor is a GOP jerk who hates everyone not white. His yes men do as they are told. I hate that more. After much thought I have decided that reduced tuition for anyone is fine. An educated and free-thinking public is the downfall of the GOP and they know it.

[FatherWolf]

12:06 AM on 06/12/2010

We're becoming a "papers, please" country.

Like in those old movies where guards at checkpoints in dictatorial countries are checking for people who are illegals in some way.

I recall back in the good old days of the Cold War, that one of the horrors of the Soviet Union was that they had internal passports - the slave-citizens of the USSR had to carry their identification with them all the time, while in The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave people were free from interference by the government.

How times have changed.

[wolfdogNM]

06:37 AM on 06/14/2010

The same was true for South Africa when it was under aparthide rule. All the African natives, Asians and Coulords had to cary papers around at all times.

[avocats]

10:31 PM on 06/11/2010

Unless I'm wrong, federal law MANDATES this result.

[Acert]

04:42 AM on 06/14/2010

Federal law doesn't mandate anything about in-state vs out-of-state tuition.

[JPalka]

08:11 AM on 06/11/2010

Education is a good thing. Let them have it. It is not like they had the money and found a loophole. Even if they stay and "take" higher paying jobs... they will be educated here, they will build their families here. You have to keep in mind these kids are college material to begin with. I think it is a mistake to deny education.

But then it may be something related to race, that irks people... Georgia people should see this as a call to push for more education for their own kids, to use those in state tuition levels themselves, not to say "we are stupid and want to remain pure"

[KIVPossum]

05:38 AM on 06/11/2010

Good, as it should be. Mine, who isn't illegal (refuse to use the term undocumented) has to pay out of state rates because he's out of state.

[randyjet]

12:14 AM on 06/11/2010

Federal law requires that any state that grants in state tuition to illegals MUST grant in state tuition to ALL AMERICAN students of ALL states. Most state are refusing to follow this law. Too bad that the states have the same idea as illegals that the law does NOT matter if it gets in their way.

[SF TKF]

12:11 AM on 06/11/2010

Citizens from other states can't attend without paying "out of state" tuition, why should illegal aliens be allowed to do so?

[Psyllicon]

11:08 PM on 06/10/2010

It is high time this became the norm. A legal immigrant is not afforded In-State tuition, period. Justifying the financial burden placed on society in offering illegal aliens a tax subsidized preferential treatment is nothing short of traitorous.

[fem56]

10:32 PM on 06/10/2010

Free and appropriate k-12 is a right for all children within our borders as far as I am concerned. Post-secondary education is a priviledge. Qualifications are required and young adults are accepted or not. If a child is brought up to the US illegally by their parents they have no choice in the matter. However once they are adults they can now move around freely which means they can be educated in the country where they are a legal resident receiving all the privileges and advantages of their citizenship. Or they can attend college in the US as foreign nationals on a student visa and pay either out of state tuition or qualify for finacial aid. Many private schools provide finacial aid to foriegn students as well. For the states to do otherwise is to send the wrong message to all future illegal immigrants; that they can come to the US and get all the privileges of legal residents. Also to do otherwise is to disadvantage out of state residents who have to pay full freight.

[zaqxswtrewq]

02:59 PM on 06/11/2010

It is your opinion and it is absolutely WRONG . Why should my taxes ...Tied to real estate and housing in most states in the Tri State Area pay for someone cheating the system and breaking the law ? I keep hearing how Illegal immigrants are valuable to our soceity and how they pay taxes ... well income taxes and / or consumption taxes dont cover what in the NE is estimated to be schooling cost of 10 - 14k usd per child . Where i live we are in fact we are enforcing proof of town residency . If states and local municipalities are in such bad shape we can not afford to let the children of those tax paying residents sit in an overcrowded classroom . It is not only the money that illegal immigrants are coming here for , it is the ease and ability to " game " the system and take the free perks of our social services and availability of our education system . It is mandated in many town , cities and states to provide English for those students that are not fluent . Well often this comes at the expense of other classes that could be afforded to children of Citizens of this country.

[avocats]

10:43 PM on 06/11/2010

The Supreme Court ruled decades ago that we must provide "free" K-12 education to children of illegals, noting at the time that the cost was minimal. Well, now it's more than $10,000 a year, or $120,000 each--and there are millions.

[MamaBird62]

08:15 PM on 06/10/2010

I think that Georgia's money would be better spent screening the universities for people who need remedial help with math and basic reading and writing skills. It is the state with one of the highest drop out rates in the nation, and some of the lowest test scores.

[Ralph Noyes]

09:50 PM on 06/10/2010

If they did that screening, they would find the teabagger children.

They're witchhunting for immigrants. That's what this is. A witch hunt.

[LogicOnlyPlease]

04:16 AM on 06/11/2010

It's a known fact Tea Party backers are higher educated than the general public.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/us/politics/15poll.html?ref=tea_party_movement

[carbolaw]

05:45 PM on 06/10/2010

It is great to see the vim and vigor that comes out in this board anytime there is an opportunity to attack the weakest amongst us. We are so good at attacking the undocumented immigrants, people on unemployment, those on TANF. the working class, the "underclass", etc. without even stepping back for a minute and looking at who is setting this agenda to keep this infighting going and to consider how much of a red herring these issues really are. I am particularly appreciative of the comments that suggest we have tough choices to make there is simply no way for us to continue to fund public institutions of higher education if we allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition - because of course we know that there is not enough wealth in this country to pay for higher ed. After all the richest 400 Americans definitely need their 1.5 trillion dollars of wealth (to think they only saw a $30 billion increase in the worst 12 months of the financial crisis) and the average wealth of the top 1% was a mere $14.7 million as of 2004. We must attack these undocumented students with a great deal of our energy and zeal, it is a much more important issue than the fact that corporate profits are a greater percentage of GDP than they have been since the Great Depression or the fact that we have the highest levels of wealth or income inequality we have ever seen.

[randyjet]

10:36 PM on 06/10/2010

It is the ruling class which is pushing for amnesty and wants MORE illegals. It is time some progressives open their eyes and see the facts. The Chamber of Commerce, and NAM are all big pushers of illegals for a simple reason, they want cheap labor. I hope that your job gets taken by an illegal and then you can donate it to their cause.

It is also time to return to the traditional position of labor and progressives who were opposed to even LEGAL immigration, not to mention illegal. The reason for that is obvious when you look at the stats on union membership and immigration. When immigration was high, unions languished. FDR banned ALL immigration during the Depression by the way. I guess he was not labor friendly or a racist. Get real.

[carbolaw]

12:46 AM on 06/11/2010

It is the illegal status that allows employers to exploit the immigrant workers. Illegal status and the threat of deportation create an environment where undocumented workers can be exploited with impunity. Guarantee the same rights to undocumented workers as other workers you begin to eliminate the pull effect of immigration. At the same time you must deal with the push effect which means addressing the fact that the gap in wealth between Mexico and the US is the widest gap of wealth between any bordering countries. The bigger concern for working Americans should be the continued exploitation of the workforce by the capital owners. The country's wealth is not concentrated in the hands of the immigrant workers that take the most dangerous jobs we offer at the lowest pay - it is in the hands of the ownership class. When capital can move with no restriction across borders while labor is restricted in movement you create an environment ripe for exploitation. We see this with the recent move by the US automakers to Mexican paying employees $26 per day. Strange how attacking the undocumented workers will do nothing to address these jobs or any of the other offshored jobs. Keep buying into the hate baiting agenda of the ownership class. Buy into the current red herring of the dangerous undocumented immigrant as the economic wrecking crew of today and perhaps tomorrow you can turn your attention to the gay soldiers that will be the ruin of our national defense.

[dnalpahs]

05:35 PM on 06/10/2010

The liberal argument for not enforcing borders has been, "They do the work Americans aren't willing to do, so they are not taking jobs from citizens."

Now, in a time of high unemployment, what is the justification of allowing illegal immigrants to get a discounted college education?

Won't they want to get a job after graduation? Will they be doing the low paying, menial work that Americans won't do, or will they be looking for high paying jobs that a college graduate would take?

[LogicOnlyPlease]

04:47 AM on 06/11/2010

Thank you for that meaningful logic. I can't believe someone flagged your comment as abusive. Looks like they had no argument against your logic and resorted to childish means of retaliation.

[Nofuzzydreams]

05:05 PM on 06/10/2010

47% do not pay any taxes. Its hard to believe there are many illegals who are not in the 47%. Now they may pay ss and medicare taxes which they should for simply getting the opportunity to work here (due to the economy and infrastructure created over generations by tax paying 53% of the citizens). That certainly does not qualify them for state tuition.