Senate, House OK Education Bills For Undocumented Students [Courant]

May 19, 2015

HARTFORD — The Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would allow the children of undocumented immigrants to apply for college tuition assistance, even though they lack a Social Security card and other documents required to fill out financial aid forms.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Alison Martinez-Carrasco, a 21-year-old junior at UConn who came to Hartford from Ecuador with her parents at age 4. “This bill directly affects me. … I now have something to help me with tuition.”

Martinez-Carrasco and other advocates for undocumented students watched from the Senate gallery as the 24-12 vote was announced.

“College access is really important,” Stefan Keller, a volunteer with Connecticut Students For a Dream, said afterward. “This makes it fair, so that everyone can have that chance.”

Meanwhile, one floor beneath the gilded Senate chamber, members of the House of Representatives were locked in an intense debate on a related bill that would make it easier for students without legal immigration status to receive lower-priced, in-state tuition rates at the state’s public colleges and universities. State Rep. Vin Candelora, R-North Branford, noted the Senate action to his colleagues on the floor of the House, with dismay. “It’s a very sad day,” he said. “We can’t afford to go down this path.”

Unlike the brisk discussion in the Senate, which lasted about 45 minutes, the House debate rolled on for more than seven hours and at times reflected broader concerns on the part of some Republican legislators that people move to Connecticut just to take advantage of benefits offered here. In the end, the House approved the measure 78-70, with three representatives absent. No Republican lawmakers supported the bill.

Connecticut currently provides the in-state tuition break to undocumented immigrants who have attended high school in the state for four years. The bill approved by the House Wednesday would change that requirement to two years. It would also extend in-state tuition to victims of human trafficking and crimes in their home countries.

Supporters say the change would put Connecticut in step with the requirements of neighboring states. New York has a two-year residency requirement, for example. Moreover, they say, the bill, which still needs Senate approval, would help fill empty seats at some public colleges while providing an important boost to immigrants seeking a better future.

“The legislation passed today moves Connecticut forward tomorrow,” said Devon Puglia, spokesman for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. “It helps us build a brighter future not just for our children now, but for our economy in the long term. Easing access to college will help develop an even stronger workforce, bolster our communities and, most importantly, is morally right.”

But Republican critics of the measure were unswayed. For hours, they attacked the proposal, calling it “loosey-goosey and internally inconsistent and internally flawed.”

“I don’t frankly care what the other states do,” said Rep. Whit Betts, R-Bristol. “Being here for four years seems to be a realistic expectation for anybody who wants to apply to a college or state university in Connecticut.”

Making it easier and cheaper for undocumented immigrants to attend UConn and the state universities would drain resources for other students, said Rep. Art O’Neill, R-Southbury.

“My constituents believe that there is a bumping effect,” O’Neill said. “They suspect that if their student, their child, their grandchild, their niece, their nephew, does not get admitted into a public university and someone who is illegally in this country does … there is at least a chance … that that slot could have gone to their child, their grandchild, their niece, their nephew. And that is one of the reasons I am opposed to this legislation.”

Candelora said the state risks attracting an influx of undocumented immigrants if it continues to pursue generous social welfare benefits. “All I hear from my constituents is how they can’t afford college anymore,” he said. “We struggle with trying to come up with ways for individuals to be able to pay off their student debt, [yet] this bill really flies in the face of that and only exacerbates the problem.”

The strong and united GOP opposition in the House stood in marked contrast to vote in the Senate on the financial aid bill, which did not break along neat ideological lines. Four Republicans — Sens. Kevin Witkos of Canton, Art Linares of Westbrook, Tony Guglielmo of Stafford and Senate GOP leader Len Fasano of North Haven — all backed the measure. One Democrat — Paul Doyle of Wethersfield — voted no.

“It’s not a handout. It’s a hand pulling people up,” Linares said. “This bill is going to allow a whole new generation of people to get to higher education quicker. They will be able to take on more challenging careers.”

Senate President Martin Looney, one of the bill’s chief advocates, said Senate action “sends a strong message that Connecticut values all of our students regardless of their place of birth.”

Fasano noted that several other states, including Texas, California and Minnesota, all allow undocumented immigrants to apply for state-funded financial aide. (U.S. government rules prevent those without legal immigration status from receiving federal financial aide.)

“What are we going to do with the folks that are here?” Fasano asked. “Are you going to say you’re going to go to high school, and you’re going to graduate, and we’re going to cut you off, and you’re going to have to go make do? Or are we going to give folks opportunity? Are we going to stand here and say, with a little money can we help out people.”

Fasano said he knows the idea of offering a break to those who are here illegally “rubs some folks the wrong way.”

But he added, the question ultimately turns on larger questions about how society treats undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. “Are we going to say we’re going to leave you behind? Are we going to say we’re not going to make you part of our society? Are we going to say we’re not going to give you the opportunity to compete?

“What this does is say we’re going to give you that chance. We will be a better state for it. We will have more productive citizens.”

The Senate bill, which was also proposed by Malloy, now moves to the House for consideration.