College tuition debated
Illegal immigrants may be denied in-state rates
By Jordan Funderburk, staff writer
Posted on January 22, 2007

Questions about immigration are being raised again in the Virginia state legislature, as delegates debate whether illegal immigrants can claim in-state tuition for Virginia colleges.

If passed, the bill will deny in-state tuition to any illegal immigrants, even if they have lived in the state for more than a year.

Del. Ben Cline, R-24th District, submitted the bill along with four other education bills to help prioritize taxpayer money for education.

“We want to make sure Virginia taxpayer dollars go where they should,” Cline said.

House Bill 2169 currently stands within the Committee of Education awaiting further deliberation. Cline’s bill says, “An alien who is unlawfully present in the United States, shall not be eligible on the basis of residency within Virginia for any postsecondary educational benefit including, but not limited to, in-state tuition and state financial aid.”

Vreni Michelini, a freshman at Blue Ridge Community College, has found herself in an uphill battle. Coming to America nearly six years ago, Michelini had hoped to attend the University of Georgia while living in the state. Georgia denied her in-state tuition as well as state aid.

Now Virginia is moving a step closer to mimicking Georgia, requiring more than just residency within the Commonwealth for one year. Michelini understands the legal reasons behind the new bill, but does not agree with it.

“Look at my parents or someone like me who wants to study, and yet they’re denying them the right,” Michelini said. “How does that reflect on society?”

While Michelini is a legal immigrant in the country, she has still been labeled an international student by U.Ga., and now Virginia Commonwealth University, the college she hoped to attend after community college. Michelini will have been a resident in Virginia for one year by the start of the next school term, and will most likely have gotten her green card. Yet she fears this may not be enough anymore.

Cline hopes to tighten up the requirements for in-state tuition. “There is more to it than just getting the green card and showing up,” Cline said. “We need to make sure they meet the residency requirements as well.”

This has also become an area to begin fighting illegal immigration within the state. “We should take action on immigration where the federal government has not,” Cline said.

However, Michelini sees Cline targeting the wrong types of immigrants with the bill.

“The immigrants come here to benefit the system,” Michelini said. “It hurts the people who are trying to do something and discourages them from going to school. They are denying someone the right to pursue their life.”