Immigration reform is a complicated problem, but by passing House Bill 904, the N.C. General Assembly could take a step toward a more just system.
The bill would authorize students who were brought into the country as children to receive in-state tuition at N.C. public universities and community colleges. It was referred to the House of Representatives’ Education Committee on Monday.
In the bill, to qualify for in-state tuition, students must have attended an N.C. public school for two consecutive years immediately before graduating from high school.
Even after attending high school in North Carolina, these students now have to pay out-of-state tuition and are ineligible for both state and federal financial aid.
It only makes sense for the state to follow through with the investment it has already made in these students and grant them in-state tuition.
To qualify for in-state tuition, the students would have to provide proof that they’ve applied for deferment of deportation under a plan implemented by President Obama last year.
These students want an education, and it doesn’t seem right to deprive them of that for decisions that were almost entirely out of their control.
According to CollegeBoard, 65,000 of these students graduate from U.S. high schools each year, and many are prohibited from attending college because of out-of-state tuition.
Let’s fix this problem.
