ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate voted Monday to approve a bill aimed at barring undocumented immigrant students from state colleges, universities and technical schools.
Senate Bill 458, approved by a 34-19 vote, also would tweak other state laws dealing with illegal immigration. During nearly two hours of discussion, lawmakers focused mostly on undocumented immigrants’ access to higher education before voting on the bill.
The bill now heads to the House. A House committee held a hearing in January on a bill that would bar undocumented immigrants from state higher education institutions, but its members have not voted on that bill.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, said it has stirred up a lot of controversy, but he said it simply aims to correct some unintended consequences and to clarify the legislative intent of previously passed laws.
“This bill is not about education,” Loudermilk said, adding that it’s about taxpayer-funded benefits going to people who are in the country undocumented. He pointed out that undocumented immigrants can still attend private institutions in the state.
Democrats released a minority report on the bill on Monday calling the legislation unnecessary, fundamentally unfair and economically shortsighted.
“Increasing the number of college graduates who earn higher wages generates higher sales, property, and income taxes,” Sen. Vincent Fort of Atlanta wrote in the report. “Denying these students access to higher education will cost Georgia money in the long-term.”
