Providing in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants increases college enrollment
October 15, 2008Undocumented youth are not likely to go to college. Usually they do not qualify for financial aid and often come from low-income families with little ability to pay college tuition. A new study in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management found that providing tuition subsidy in the form of in-state tuition increased the college enrollment and educational attainment of non-citizen, Mexican young adults, a group comprising a majority of undocumented individuals in the United States.
Results show that the in-state tuition policy was associated with a 31 percent increase in college enrollment and a 33 percent increase in the proportion of Mexican young adults with a college degree.
"Without opportunities for college education, the undocumented youth may be pushed into an underground economy and remain isolated from the mainstream American society," the author concludes. "Access to affordable higher education can potentially open new opportunities for these youth, which may improve their future economic prospects, productivity, and contributions to the U.S. economy."
This study is published in the Fall 2008 issue of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.
Source: Wiley-Blackwell
Jan 26, 2010
i tend to be more open-minded than most, but it makes more sense to me to give in-state tuition to out-of-state citizens rather than those already living off the largesse of the government.
look, i'm all about the melting pot. melt away, people! but the whole idea of country-hood is that citizenship carries with it certain privileges. what's the point of fighting for a green card if it's just going to be given to you anyway?
so if there's a commitment to citizenship, fine. but especially in the present day, to act as if the state has limitless monetary resources at its disposal is plainly irresponsible.