AG issues tuition ruling

Students who are citizens qualify for resident rates

Erika Gonzalez, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 15, 2007 at midnight

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Students who are Colorado residents and U.S. citizens qualify for in-state college tuition, even if their parents are illegal immigrants, according to an opinion released Tuesday by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers.

"Because it is the student, rather than the parents, who is the legal beneficiary of in-state tuition status, the fact that the parents may be in the country illegally is not a bar to the student's receipt of that benefit," Suthers wrote.

Suthers researched the law at the request of state higher education chief David Skaggs, who found that some public colleges were asking such students to pay out-of-state tuition, which can be four times higher than in-state tuition.

Confusion over the issue arose partly because of House Bill 1023 passed by state lawmakers last year. The law bars illegal immigrants from getting public benefits.

Under another law, residency status for unemancipated minors depends on where their parents live.

Skaggs asked Suthers to clarify the issue after learning that different schools were interpreting the laws differently.

"We needed to resolve this inconsistency," said Skaggs. "I don't know anyone (at the institutions) who won't welcome this decision and be glad to implement it."

Suthers' decision covers U.S. citizens under the age of 22 who are not emancipated from their undocumented parents. Skaggs said about 75 students statewide fall into the category annually.

To qualify for Colorado residency, students must prove that their families have resided in the state for the previous 12 months.

Suthers wrote that under Colorado law, even undocumented individuals can establish residency by such evidence as property ownership or proof of employment.

It's not known whether Tuesday's ruling would prompt some students - who previously may have feared being charged nonresident rates - to apply to Colorado schools.

But Jim Chavez, executive director of the Latin American Educational Foundation, welcomed the opinion.

"I'm very hopeful that next year's graduating seniors will have a much higher level of encouragement and confidence that they can go to school and have a lesser financial burden," he said.

Until it changed its policy late last week, Metropolitan State College of Denver charged nonresident tuition to students who were legal residents, but could not prove the legal status of their parents.

Metro officials will now review records to identify students who may have been incorrectly charged nonresident fees, said president Stephen Jordan.

Metro charges in-state students $1,516 for 12 credit hours, while nonresidents pay $5,567.

Although anti-immigration activists said they had no problem with charging in-state tuition for U.S. citizens born to undocumented parents, some worried about pushing benefits further.

"Any additional benefit - say in the form of scholarships or financial aid that would be determined by the financial status of their parents - that would run into a roadblock," said Stan Weekes, director of the Boulder-based Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform.

State Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, said he would like federal law changed so that children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants don't automatically become citizens, as is now the case.

gonzaleze@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5350 The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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