Bill would cut UH fee for illegal immigrants

State senators are supporting a bill that would allow Hawaii high school graduates without legal immigration status to get resident tuition at the University of Hawaii and be eligible for state-funded financial aid.

The measure, the state’s version of the federal Dream Act, would bring Hawaii in line with 13 states that offer in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants who are residents. Hawaii would be just the fourth state, however, to give them access to taxpayer-funded financial aid.

The Senate Education Committee advanced the bill Monday. Sen. Sam Slom (R, Diamond Head-Hawaii Kai) cast the lone no vote, saying the measure amounted to "special treatment for unlawful immigrants."

No one testified against the measure, which received support from the university and civil rights and community organizations. Advocates say the move has big potential benefits.

UH officials estimate that as many as 1,300 students could take advantage of the lower tuition rates at campuses statewide. Together those students would pay about $2 million per year to attend. By comparison, 1,300 nonresident students would pay about $7 million.

This school year, nonresident tuition at UH-Manoa is $11,616 per semester for full-time students. By comparison, resident tuition is $4,200.

But Lui Hokoana, UH associate vice president for student affairs, cautioned against focusing on the rate difference. He said there are "opportunity costs" of limiting educational choices for undocumented immigrant students, many of whom who have spent much of their life in the islands.

Hokoana pointed out that in a recent review, UH found just five students now attending any UH campus who might qualify under the measure.

The bill will go next before the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Its passage through the Senate Education Committee this week was a victory for supporters, who assumed it was dead for this session after a House version failed to make it out of committee. To revive it, senators rewrote an unrelated bill to serve as the vehicle for pushing forward the measure.

Hawaii is the latest state to consider offering resident tuition rates to undocumented immigrant students in response to controversy surrounding the Dream Act, which has foundered in Congress. The legislation would provide a pathway to legal permanent residency for young immigrants without lawful status who graduated from American high schools.

The Hawaii bill, similarly, requires that students without lawful immigration status graduate from a Hawaii high school to qualify for the resident tuition. They also must have attended a high school in Hawaii for at least three years, and must provide an affidavit that says they are seeking legal status or plan to file an application soon.

The legislation is meant to help students without legal immigration status "live the American dream and become leaders in our community," said Sen. Jill Tokuda, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee. "These are members of our community and society."

Advocates suspect that students from the Philippines would be among the largest group taking advantage of in-state tuition at UH under the legislation. Other groups that could most benefit include students from Tonga, Mexico or Latin American nations.

Monisha Das Gupta, a UH ethnic studies professor, said if the legislation passes, the university will have to do a good amount of outreach to ensure that students and schools know about the change.

Das Gupta said UH’s estimate that 1,300 students would be likely to attend under the measure is far higher than what others are anticipating. She puts the number at more like 200, "and that’s being very optimistic," she said.

There are an estimated 40,000 undocumented immigrants in Hawaii, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. About 12 percent, or 4,800, are believed to be 18 to 24 years old. While the college-going rate for all Hawaii high school students is about 50 percent, Das Gupta said it would be much lower among undocumented immigrants because many are from families that have low incomes and are struggling.

Even in-state college tuition would be out of reach for some, she said.