SALEM Ore.
The hot-button illegal immigration issue was front and center this week as Oregon lawmakers opened hearings on a bill to allow some students who are not legal citizens to pay in-state tuition at Oregon’s public universities.
The measure would charge the lower, in-state tuition rates to undocumented students if they have spent at least three years in an Oregon high school prior to graduating and are working toward U.S. residency.
Supporters said children of undocumented immigrants shouldn’t be punished for their parents’ actions by being saddled with out-of-state tuition that’s three times as expensive.
But critics testified that the bill would reward illegal behavior by giving undocumented students access to the cheaper tuition.
The House Education Committee plans further hearings on the issue, which also came up in the 2003 and 2005 sessions. Bills in those sessions were supported in the Democratic-controlled Senate but were defeated when GOP majorities in the House squelched the idea.
Democrats now control both chambers, although that’s not a guarantee that the controversial measure will pass this session.
