Tuition debate heats up

As he gears up for his freshman year at the University of Utah, a young student says he wants to be treated just like any other student.

Yet he worries that if any of his professors discover his immigration status they'll either treat him better, or worse, than other students.

"I'm just basically trying to further my education," said the student, who asked not to be identified. "My parents didn't have that opportunity. . . . It's just something I've always wanted to do."

He's lived in Utah since he was 3 years old. Yet, legally, it's not his home because his parents brought him here without documents. He's worried that his education could be cut short if a law that allows some undocumented students to pay in-state tuition is repealed.

"I don't think I would go back to Mexico," he said. "I never went to school there. . . . It's a different language, a different system."

He doesn't qualify for federal aid but can afford tuition because of the law that grants in-state tuition to those who attend a Utah high school for three years, graduate from high school and agree to attempt to adjust their status as soon as they're able.

Some officials have said anecdotal evidence suggests a few U.S. citizens have been able to take advantage of the law, in addition to undocumented immigrants.

U. sophomore Josh James says the law granting in-state tuition to undocumented students isn't fair to U.S. citizens or legal immigrants.

Utah residents pay $4,000 for two semesters' tuition and fees at the U.; nonresidents pay $12,410.

Statewide, 117 students qualified for the tuition waiver in 2003-04, the first year it was available, according to the Utah System of Higher Education.

James, a Hawaii resident paying out-of-state tuition, said he'll qualify for the in-state rate after he completes 60 credit hours.

He said benefits like automatic in-state tuition are "making life a lot easier for those who have done things illegally. . . . It's not too fair for a person who has not gone through the legal procedure to become a citizen of this country to get a benefit that's not available to people who are legal."

The majority of the Education Interim Committee last month agreed with James and a handful of other U. students when it voted to recommend repealing the tuition waiver, HB144, during the 2006 legislative session. That means the issue could bypass Senate and House committees, and go directly to floor debate.

Accompanied by an attorney suing Kansas over a similar law there, the U. students told lawmakers they were considering a lawsuit here. The students recently decided to try to work with university officials before making a final decision on a lawsuit.