News Coverage

Chronicle of Higher Education: “In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrants Can Be a Plus for Both States and Students”

States that allow illegal immigrants to pay cheaper, in-state tuition have seen a 31-percent jump in that population's college-going rate and a 14-percent decline in high-school dropouts among undocumented Latino students, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The report, by researchers at Roger Williams University's Latino Policy Institute, also concludes that the 11 states that offered in-state rates at the time the study was completed actually came out slightly ahead financially. Critics who view in-state tuition policies as financial drains on states don't consider the fact that most illegal immigrants would not go to college if required to pay significantly higher out-of-state rates, the authors argue.

In addition, "they don't consider the long-term benefits of educating someone and the economic contribution college graduates give back to the community" when they buy more goods and pay more taxes, Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco, director of the policy institute, said in an interview.

She said more study was needed to substantiate the economic benefits of providing in-state tuition policies, "but from the digging we've done, it appears that there is no cost to states, and there might even be a financial benefit."

http://chronicle.com/article/In-State-Tuition-for-Illegal/127581/

Providence Journal:

Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco, new director of the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University, said the institute

Contrary to numbers cited by groups opposed both to illegal and legal immigration, Mehlman-Orozco said,

http://www.projo.com/news/content/IN_STATE_TUITION_05-27-11_7OOALII_v16.311b858.html

Texas Tribune:

According to a recent report by researchers at Roger Williams University's Latino Policy Institute, states that let students without legal citizenship pay in-state tuition rates saw a 31 percent increase in college enrollment and a 14 percent decline in the number of high school dropouts. Of the nine studies reviewed, the researchers found two that said in-state tuition provisions cost taxpayers.

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/higher-education/bill-would-end-tuition-break-for-illegal-immigrant/

O Jornal:

http://my.ojornal.com/news/study-says-non-citizen-enrollment-would-boost-ri-higher-ed

The Cap Times:

** States allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition -- instead of charging more costly out-of-state fees -- have witnessed a 31-percent increase in that population's college-going rate and a 14-percent drop in high-school dropouts among undocumented Latino students, according to a report out of Roger Williams University's Latino Policy Institute.

Perhaps most importantly, the report titled "The Effects of In-State Tuition for Non-Citizens: A Systematic Review of the Evidence," states that "the benefits associated with in-state tuition do not appear to come at a financial cost to the U.S. taxpayer."

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/campus_connection/article_ad9066f0-825b-11e0-b204-001cc4c03286.html