The Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill Thursday that would prohibit illegal aliens from attending Virginia public colleges and universities and expel those already enrolled.
The House voted 71-29 in favor of the bill, which now will be sent to the State Senate for review. If passed, the bill will be presented to Gov. Mark R. Warner for approval.
Del. Jack Reid, R-Henrico, sponsored the bill. He was unable to be reached for comment yesterday.
Reid said Thursday it is not fair for someone who is a legal U.S. citizen to lose a position in college to someone who is not, according to an Associated Press article.
Federal law mandates that illegal aliens are ineligible for in-state tuition rates and thus must pay out-of-state tuition.
Peter Blake, Warner's deputy secretary for higher education, said illegal aliens living in Virginia cannot receive a benefit such as in-state tuition just by virtue of living in the state.
"You can't give a non-citizen a benefit that you don't also give to any citizen of the Commonwealth or the country," Blake said.
Del. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, strongly opposed the bill.
"It's a regressive measure that prevents people from being educated that have been educated in Virginia high schools," he said.
Ebbin added that he thinks the bill is not just unfair -- it is "cruel."
"The people who voted for this measure -- I don't know what their plan is for these people," he said. "The bottom line is they just don't care."
Last year, Warner vetoed legislation that would have forced illegal immigrants residing in Virginia to pay out-of-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Blake said the governor vetoed the bill because he thought it was inappropriate, as federal law already requires illegal aliens to pay out-of-state tuition.
"I will not attach my signature to legislation which has no substantive effect and is designed to solely score political points and divide people, rather than unite them in a common purpose," Warner stated in his official veto.
Blake said it is too early to say whether Warner would veto the bill if it receives Senate approval, but added that one cannot judge Warner's position on immigration issues based on his past decisions.
"While someone may draw parallels between this year and last year, we are dealing with a completely different issue," he said. "This goes beyond in-state and out-of-state tuition."
Under a 1982 Supreme Court decision, states are required to provide undocumented children with a free public education from kindergarten through twelfth grade, according to Reid's legislative proposal.
Blake pointed out that if illegal students are prohibited from enrolling in college, there will be many people in local communities without a college education. Given a choice between having illegal aliens attend college or not, Blake said the governor would argue for "expanded educational opportunities every time."
University Admissions Dean John A. Blackburn explained the University's policy on dealing with undocumented students.
"The attorney general last year said that public colleges and universities should not enroll undocumented aliens, so we abide by that," Blackburn said. "That's our policy."
Despite approval from the House of Delegates, Ebbin said nothing is set in stone.
"It's not over yet," he said. "Even though the House took this action by a lopsided margin, I'm hopeful that the Virginia Senate will give this punitive and unnecessary measure the full and thorough consideration that is essential before we change the course of people's lives."
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