SUPPORT FOR EQUITABLE IMMIGRANT TUITION

WHEREAS, the rate of immigration to the U.S. is at its highest since the great immigration period of the early 1900s, resulting in a significant increase in immigrant students enrolling in higher education; and

WHEREAS, institutions of higher education, particularly in urban settings, often serve as gateways for immigrants to full participation in the economic, cultural and political life in the U.S.; and

WHEREAS, many immigrant students were brought to the United States as young children and have not yet been able to attain legal status, while others are awaiting approval of application for legal status; and

WHEREAS, some states charge such students out-of-state or international tuition rates that are significantly higher than in-state tuition, without regard to the length of time the student may have spent in that state; and

WHEREAS, such policies make it extremely difficult for immigrant students to access higher education, thereby stopping a significant portion of the country's future work force and citizenry from a necessary education; and

WHEREAS, states such as New York, California and Texas, which have heavy immigrant student populations, have availed themselves of a provision in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623) that permits states to set alternative policies by legislative act and grant immigrants the right to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities in those states; and

WHEREAS, several other states have similar legislation prepared to be introduced in upcoming legislative sessions:

RESOLVED, that the AFT support legislative efforts to establish state policies granting in-state tuition to immigrant students, particularly in states with high levels of immigration, who are living in the U.S. legally, in the process of legalizing their immigration status, or have expressed a willingness to legalize their status once they are able. [Executive Council]