Battle over aid: Lawmakers move to curb benefits

A measure to repeal in-state tuition for qualified undocumented immigrants could resurface on the House floor, this time as part of a broader bill to deny public benefits to undocumented immigrants.

HB437 was approved by the House Law Enforcement Committee on Tuesday by a 6-4 vote. It would prohibit undocumented immigrants from accessing any public benefits, except for those federally mandated, such as public education.

"Last year, 32 states enacted legislation to try to curb illegal immigration," said Rep. Christopher Herrod, R-Provo, sponsor of HB437. "We were one of 18 states that did nothing. We have become a bastion of illegal immigration."

Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake, unsuccessfully attempted to amend the bill to remove the repeal of in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants who have attended a Utah high school for three years and graduated. Another tuition repeal, HB224, died in a tied House vote earlier this session, and a vote to reconsider it failed.

"We've rejected that twice," Litvack said. "Enough is enough."

Herrod said rehearing the tuition bill is merited because the original bill had a "faulty" fiscal note indicating an estimated cost of $200,000 in lost tuition in 2008.

But Litvack said, "This was not a fiscal note issue."

Before bringing HB437 to committee, Herrod had revised it to address concerns from a wide range of nonprofit organizations. Herrod said the bill is only aimed at government services, such as welfare, and defers to federal law when it comes to nonprofit organizations.

"This bill is not about soup kitchens, the United Way and those groups that serve the immigrant community," Herrod said. "If they are meeting the law right now, my bill won't change that."

But Gina Cornia, executive director of Utahns Against Hunger, questioned why the bill was needed, since state agencies already use a federal verification system to verify eligibility. She said the bill could complicate matters for families that include both citizens and undocumented immigrants.

"It's already difficult to get mixed-status families to get services," she said. "This will be another barrier to prevent people from applying. If it's already covered under federal law, you have to wonder what's the point?"