Illegal immigrants in Florida will now be able to afford college education as Florida International University is offering in-state tuition prices to immigrants who are yet to obtain full legal status. The in-state tuition represents one third of the cost of the non-resident tuition.
The university is granting temporary federal protection to immigrants under a new policy.
"The university has taken a courageous step, and I think we're going to see more and more schools are going to start examining this more closely," said Ediberto Roman, an FIU law professor.
On the other hand, a lot of them feel that it would be unreasonable to legal U.S. citizens from other states who pay more than students without legal status.
"It rubs a lot of people the wrong way," Jessica Vaughan, director of Policy Studies at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies said. "These policies can serve to attract illegal immigrants and serves as a magnet for them. That has implications for the rest of the state residents."
Last year, the Obama administration established the "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" program for young adults who came to the U.S. as children. The deferred status, which is applicable for two years, doesn't lead to citizenship nor does it determine whether the immigrants should be offered in-state tuition or other benefits.
This January, after months of denying that deferred action does not represent a lawful immigration status, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a memo stating that such immigrants are 'lawfully present in the U.S.' during their two-year period.
Deferred action "is such a new program and institutions are scrambling to get policies and procedures into place. There's not uniformity but colleges are moving more toward permitting students to receive in-state tuition," said Michelle Lapointe, a lawyer with the Southern Poverty Law Center.
About 12 states, including California and Texas, permit student immigrants who do not have federal legal status to qualify for in-state tuition. Roughly 8,973 Floridians belong to the deferred status, and another 21,644 of them are under consideration.
Aldo Martinez, 19, is one of the teenagers under the deferred status list. He came to South Florida at the age of 12 due to financial problems and bloodshed in Mexico City. Last year, Martinez finished his schooling from William H. Turner Technical Arts High School in Miami and has enroled only in one class at Miami Dade College as it costs him $2,700 at the non-resident rate.
After the introduction of the new policy, he will now be allowed to pay in-state tuition rates that approximately cost around $6,427 per year when compared to $18,826 in non-resident rate.
"I'm finally able to go to college full-time like I've always wanted," said Martinez, who wants to be a trauma surgeon. "I now have direction. I know what I can do. I have hope."
FIU began implementing this new policy starting this spring, when around 11 students took advantage of the tuition benefits. About 30 students have signed up for fall.
"I think it makes sense for FIU to do it," State Rep. Jeanette Nunez said. "Each university has a unique demographic and mission, and FIU is the largest in terms of Hispanic graduates, and it's appropriate for them to take a proactive stance on an issue like this.
