Tuesday, February 28, 2012
News Bill banning undocumented students from attending Georgia's colleges passes in committee
Posted by Joeff Davis @joeffly on Tue, Feb 28, 2012 at 3:29 PM
- Joeff Davis
- UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS Yovany Diaz, a 2010 graduate of Chattahoochee High School and Julio Quezada, a freshman at Milton High School. Diaz (foreground) has lived in Georgia for 16 years, "Not only do I consider myself an American," he said at the rally, "but a Georgian!"
"Fundamentally unjust," was how Azadeh Shahshahani of the ACLU of Georgia described Senate Bill 458 during a rally against the bill this morning at the state capitol. Sponsored by state Sen. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, the bill would ban undocumented students from attending all state colleges, universities and technical colleges in Georgia. A Senate committee gave the bill its blessing today and it awaits a floor vote.
Currently, undocumented students are not permitted to attend Georgia colleges that “for the two most recent academic years, did not admit all academically qualified applicants." Schools which fit that description include the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, and Georgia Tech. If they do attend a state school, he or she must pay out-of-state tuition.
If SB 458 is approved, Georgia will become only the second state in the country to ban undocumented students from higher education. Fourteen states currently have bills that not only allow undocumented students to attend state colleges and universities, but also allow them to pay in-state tuition costs, according to Shahshahani.
"It gives me the worst feeling of discrimination and rejection I have ever experienced," Elizabeth Gariby, an undocumented Georgia high school student who was brought to the United States when she was five by her parents, said during this morning's rally against the legislation. "I broke no laws and I am not a criminal. Please do not treat me like one."
According to the state, fewer than one-tenth of one percent of the university system's 318,000 students are undocumented. They all pay the out-of-state tuition rate, which is roughly three times more than that paid by in-state students. That cash more than covers the cost of education, according to testimony University System Chancellor Hank Huckaby delivered last Wednesday on SB 458. The former state representative, who took the head state job last year, came out against the bill. “No one gets a free benefit,” he said.
Loudermilk argues that the new law is important because the current system takes slots at state colleges away from citizens. “Our colleges and universities are for those that are U.S. citizens and are here legally,” he told the AJC.
- Joeff Davis
- Elizabeth Garibay, an undocumented student at Clarke Central High School in Athens who was brought to the United States when she was five by her parents, speaks at this mornings press conference, "I broke no laws, " she said "and I am not a criminal, please do not treat me like one."
- Joeff Davis
- State Senator Nan Orrick said that the country was built by immigrants and that students who crave higher education should have the opportunity to attend school. She said that SB 458 was being "driven by right-wing ideology."
- Joeff Davis
- Aldo Mendoza holds a sign at this morning's press conference at the state capitol against SB 458, which targets undocumented Georgia students.
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