If the students remain in the United States illegally for a year after turning 18, they'll face a 10-year bar on entering the country legally, unless they can qualify for a waiver. That waiver requires showing a person's absence would cause "extreme hardship" for a parent or spouse who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, said Maria Elena Garcia-Upson, spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

On the other hand, if a student leaves the country to try to obtain a student visa, they'd have to show a financial ability to pay and that they don't intend to immigrate because it's a temporary visa.

"If they intend to become an immigrant, they cannot use that non-immigrant visa to come to the United States," Garcia-Upson said. "That would be circumventing the law."

Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George, is drafting a comprehensive bill that would also include the repeal, though he said his would be delayed until 2010 to give current high school students a chance to receive the tuition wavier.

Like Donnelson, who pointed out the federal Dream Act never materialized as a way for undocumented immigrants to earn legal status through higher education, Hickman doubted the federal government would act anytime soon to change the law.

"I think the DREAM Act is a dream, closely associated with a fantasy, closely associate with the federal Congress," Hickman said.

Tuesday's vote came after Hughes said he'd support the bill after he admonished the federal government for its "convoluted policy" on immigration, saying "I don't find a comfortable vote on either side of this issue."

Because of time constraints, public comments were limited to one minute, during the 30-minute discussion on the bill. Eli Cawley, chair of the Utah Minuteman Project, said "this bill does not prevent illegal aliens from getting an education. They just have to pay the same amount other aliens pay."

But Betty Watkin, a legal parent parent with two undocumented children, made a plea to the committee, saying "we couldn't afford to pay that (higher) amount."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com