News

WCC backs immigrant tuition bill

By Barbara Sella
Wisconsin Catholic Conference

The Wisconsin Catholic Conference announced it supports Assembly Bill 95 (written by Milwaukee Rep. Pedro Colón), which would allow undocumented immigrants to pay resident tuition at any UW System school.

To qualify for in-state tuition, these students would have to meet three requirements: 1) they would have to graduate from a Wisconsin high school or receive a high school graduation equivalency from Wisconsin; 2) they would have to be consistently present in Wisconsin for at least one year following the first day of attending a Wisconsin high school; and 3) they would have to enroll in a UW institution and provide that institution with an affidavit stating that they had filed or would file an application for permanent residency with the U.S. Immigration as soon as they were eligible to do so.

In their 2000 statement, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, the U.S. Catholic Bishops state, "Without condoning undocumented migration, the church supports the human rights of all people and offers them pastoral care, education, and social services, no matter what the circumstances of entry into this country, and it works for the respect of the human dignity of all-especially those who find themselves in desperate circumstances. We recognize that nations have the right to control their borders. We also recognize and strongly assert that all human persons, created as they are in the image of God, possess a fundamental dignity that gives rise to a more compelling claim to the conditions worthy of human life. Accordingly, the church also advocates legalization opportunities for the maximum number of undocumented persons, particularly those who have built equities and otherwise contributed to their communities."

AB 95 is in accord with the principles outlined by the Bishops, said John Huebscher, WCC executive director. "Justice also holds that because the children of undocumented immigrants are in this country through no fault of their own, they should not be punished for any illegal actions their parents took. And after all, in-state tuition exists for those who pay state taxes, something which all residents do - whether they are legal or illegal residents."

A more educated and diverse population benefits everyone, Huebscher said. Even poorly educated immigrants are vital to the state's economic prosperity, not only because they willingly perform many necessary jobs in the agricultural and service sectors, but also because they create demand for a whole range of goods and services - many of which translate to more jobs for Wisconsin.

"All the more so immigrants educated in our state universities enrich our community with their culture, expertise, and entrepreneurship. Not to mention the assistance they will give their fellow immigrants in navigating and acculturating to American ways," Huebscher said.

"AB 95 is especially needed in the Latino community, which nationwide has the highest dropout rate," he said. "We all know that Wisconsin needs to do more to encourage these young people to pursue higher education so that they can create and fill high-paying jobs."

Huebscher objected to critics who say AB 95 will only encourage more people to break the law.

"No one would be guaranteed of admission to the UW simply by moving here and the UW's entrance requirements are rigorous," he said. "Furthermore, the economic barriers to a college education would still remain formidable to poor immigrants since these students would continue to be ineligible for student government loans."

Similar laws have already passed in other states and bi-partisan legislation is under consideration in Congress in the "Student Adjustment Act" and the "DREAM Act."

"Legal and illegal immigration will continue to be a global phenomenon for the foreseeable future. How we treat these newcomers, however, will determine whether our communities become as economically vibrant and culturally diverse as they need to be to participate in a global society," Huebscher said.

AB 95 received a public hearing at the end of October in the Assembly Committee on Government Operations and Spending Limitations, but the bill still awaits further committee action.