The Daily Campus

Issue date: 2/22/07 Section: Commentary

At the moment, illegal immigrants are able to attend Connecticut's state universities, but must pay out-of-state tuition. Yet in a public hearing last week, Connecticut State University Chancellor David Carter expressed his support for a bill that would allow undocumented illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at any of the state's public colleges and universities. This controversial bill is also supported by the state Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, which is led by Fernando Betancourt. Betancourt argues that students brought into the country illegally by their parents are unfairly burdened when they are expected to pay very high out-of-state tuition costs.

There is one glaring problem with this aforementioned proposal, which none of the bill's supporters seem to address - there is no way to verify if these students, or their parents, have fully paid their Connecticut state taxes. This is a huge problem, as one earns one's right to attend these state institutions at a lesser price by paying the taxes that finance tuition breaks. Currently, state schools charge out-of-state residents a higher rate because they have not contributed to the universities' coffers. It would be foolish to abandon this logic in the case of illegal immigrants, as, like out-of-state residents, they have not (or can not) prove that they've properly paid their taxes.

In the debate over this bill, State Sen. Dan Debicella (R-Shelton) has been a strong voice against giving illegal immigrants reduced tuition. Debicella has rightly pointed out that the state has limited resources, and that these resources should be reserved for the state's citizens and legal immigrants. While it would be altruistic to provide non-residents with state resources, like reduced-price education, the state government is only obligated to financially aid those contributing to the pool of tax dollars. Thus, the state should not subsidize the education of illegal immigrants, and should instead use that money to enhance the existing infrastructure of state universities or provide larger scholarships to tax-paying residents.

Connecticut has the ability to use tax dollars to ease the college costs of its public universities. These dollars should be reserved for those who have paid their state taxes. It would be unfair to force taxpayers to subsidize the education of those who have not made an equal contribution to the fiscal well-being of Connecticut. Thus, just as the residents of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey should pay higher tuition at Connecticut's public colleges and universities, illegal immigrants should also continue to pay out-of-state tuition.

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