Students protest tuition break for immigrants

TOPEKA, Kan. — A handful of Utah college students paying out-of-state tuition are eyeing a federal lawsuit in Kansas challenging a new state law giving illegal immigrants a break on tuition at state universities and community colleges.

Mike Sizer, chairman of Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement, said about seven University of Utah students are waiting for a ruling before they decide whether to challenge a similar Utah law. There are also, apparently, two Utah State University students considering a suit.

In Topeka on Tuesday, attorneys for the state and Hispanic groups argued in federal court that two dozen university students who sued the state last year, shortly after the law took effect, don't have a right to challenge it in court.

But an attorney for opponents said federal laws enacted in 1996 prevent the state from offering residency-based benefits to illegal immigrants that aren't available to all U.S. citizens.

Utah and Kansas are among nine states with similar laws, according the Hispanic rights group El Centro in Kansas City, Kan.

The Kansas and Utah laws extend in-state tuition, which is significantly lower than tuition for nonresidents, to illegal immigrants who have attended a state high school for at least three years and graduated or earned a general education development certificate in that state.

In both states, to receive the cheaper tuition, immigrants must be actively seeking legal immigration status or plan to do so when they are eligible.

Utah and Kansas both fall under the federal 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, so if a Kansas ruling is appealed, Utah would be bound by the ruling.

Utah Assistant Attorney General Bill Evans said in a 2002 letter that Utah's law complies with federal law because it is not limited to undocumented students and is therefore not a special privilege.

Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R-North Ogden, who for the past two sessions has introduced legislation to repeal the tuition law, says Utah is vulnerable to a lawsuit. Donnelson's bill is to be discussed during the interim by the House Education Committee, according to chairwoman Margaret Dayton, R-Orem. It has yet to be placed on an agenda, however.

"If the (Kansas) lawsuit is upheld, obviously Utah is in danger," Donnelson said.