illegal immigrants in Colorado may receive in-state tuition
How can we be struggling to balance a budget and let junk like this float onto the books.
Lines drawn on in-state tuition measure
A Senate committee Thursday approved a bill that would allow illegal immigrants in Colorado to receive in-state tuition despite arguments it was unfair and would provide false hope.
After nearly five hours of testimony and discussion in a hearing room at the Capitol that was packed at times, the Senate Education Committee approved the measure on a 5-3 party-line vote, with Republicans voting no. The legislation now advances to the full Senate.
The committee Thursday heard from immigration-rights groups, advocates of tougher immigration restrictions, veterans and two high school students.
Senate Bill 170 would allow any student who had attended a Colorado high school for at least three years and graduated to receive the in-state tuition rate.
Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, the sponsor, and other supporters argued that students brought to Colorado at a young age by parents who entered the country illegally should not be punished.
"I think you build great societies by offering hope," Romer said. "When you offer people hopelessness, they do hopeless things."
Two nervous Denver high school students testified that current law was especially painful. The girls, Cecilia Chavez and Ana Galvez, both 17, made emotional pleas for mercy.
"I know we violated the laws when we came here, but some of us were young and had no choice," said Galvez, who was in tears after testifying. "I am a senior. What do I do?"
Romer added language to his bill, which still has no House sponsor, that would deny College Opportunity Fund scholarships to illegal immigrants. The vouchers provide more than $2,000 a year to a full-time student in Colorado.
The lawmaker also added language that would require the students to sign affidavits saying they would seek "legal residency." The affidavit would be considered an educational document protected by federal privacy laws.
Similar bills have failed before.
But this year the legislation has the support of some high-profile Republicans from outside the statehouse, including Dick Monfort, co-owner of the Colorado Rockies and chairman of the University of Northern Colorado's board of trustees, and Alex Cranberg, chairman of Aspect Energy and a top GOP donor.
Monfort told the committee that the system sends mixed messages to the children of illegal immigrants.
One message, he said, is, "You can better yourself. Work hard. You can go to college. You can become a doctor. You can become a lawyer."
But then the system tells kids they will have to pay two to five times as much to go to college in Colorado as other students with whom they may have grown up.
However, Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, said it might be more fair to offer all foreign students the in-state tuition rate. He and others said it was unfair for foreign students who have entered the country legally to have to pay the high tuition rates while those who didn't follow the law are given the in-state rate.
King also said the bill was offering false hope to the students, because as illegal immigrants, they would be unable to get jobs in the U.S. after graduating from college.
Ten states, including Kansas, Utah, Texas, Nebraska and New Mexico, allow illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition.
Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, the chairman of the committee, proposed an amendment that would permit recently discharged veterans to get the in-state tuition rate.
However, Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, called it a "disgrace" to tie the issue to legislation for illegal immigrants.
"I think it's quite frankly a sham that you're using the military to get your bill passed," she told Romer, pointing out that there was a Republican bill in the House that would offer in-state tuition to veterans.
Bacon's amendment failed
Originally Posted by Simon Cashmere
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just because the cops couldn't trace me. And since I'm a criminal anyway, i got nothing to lose! 
at the end? I should have put a 
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