Immigrant tuition perk is targeted

Claudia remembers her shattered hopes when she first discovered she was undocumented. She also remembers her mother's tears of joy when she found out about a state law that allows qualified undocumented students to pay in-state tuition.

"My mother's face was so excited," said Claudia, who asked not to be identified because of her immigration status. "It's a wonderful blessing to have."

Today, Claudia is an engineering student at the University of Utah. She hopes someday she will earn legal status — either through legislation or a pending application — in the state that's been her home since she was 8 years old.

But a 2002 law that made her college education possible is under attack for the fourth time in the Utah Legislature. Opponents say the law is illegal under federal law and unfair to students from other states who are U.S. citizens and who pay a higher tuition rate.

Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R-North Ogden, is again sponsoring a measure to repeal the tuition law. HB224, likely to be heard in the House Education Committee this week, is one of several bills proposed this session that target illegal immigration.

Donnelson said he's sponsoring the bill because the tuition policy is "against federal law" and could leave the state vulnerable to a lawsuit.

Concerns about potential litigation controlled the debate last year, although the Utah Attorney General's Office has said the law is sound. Those concerns were in large part spurred by a federal lawsuit over a similar Kansas law. That lawsuit was dismissed but is now under appeal in the same court that oversees Utah.

The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that as many as 100,000 illegal immigrants live in Utah, and the proposed bills are at least in part brought on by frustration over the federal government's lack of action on the issue.

Rep. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, said the three bills she's planning to sponsor aren't targeting immigrants but unlawful residents. Morgan said her bills are, in part, inspired by a comprehensive package of measures Colorado passed last year.

Morgan's bills, yet to be introduced as of Friday, would create a $50,000 civil fine for forging, counterfeiting or altering identity documents. The bills also would restrict access to public benefits such as retirement, unemployment and welfare for the undocumented and would pursue federal reimbursement for state costs associated with illegal immigration.