Rep. Grace Diaz testifies at yesterday’s House hearing.

Providence Journal / Connie Grosch

PROVIDENCE —– She wants to go college.

Amanda Pereira is a Classical High School honor student, a Rhode Island resident for the last decade, and a 16-year-old who knows her path will not be easy.

She is not a citizen of the United States.

“My parents brought me here to have an opportunity at something that they themselves could not obtain, which is a great education,” Amanda, a native of Brazil, told a legislative committee yesterday. “I know this country and its values and its language better than I know my own.”

But under state law she will have to pay more than $25,000 a year to attend the University of Rhode Island. Most of her classmates will pay around $9,000.

Rep. Grace Diaz hopes to make Pereira’s road a little easier.

Diaz, a Providence Democrat, has proposed legislation allowing Rhode Island high school graduates to qualify for the in-state tuition rate regardless of immigration status. Currently, noncitizens, even those here legally like the Pereira family, must pay out-of-state rates.

The emotionally charged issue drew heated testimony at a packed State House hearing yesterday.

“This country can’t even take care of American children in this economy. And we still have our elected officials advocating for illegal immigrants,” said Kathleen Gudaitis, a Johnston resident and member of the group Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement. “This is not to be mean, it’s not anti-immigration and it’s not against children. This is to respect our country, our laws, our citizens and our children.”

The advocacy group Rhode Island Kids Count estimates that more than 150 undocumented immigrants would take advantage of the lower tuition rates if Diaz’ legislation became law. The bill would allow immigrants to pay in-state tuition as long as they meet certain standards.

For example, they must attend a Rhode Island high school for three years. And they must graduate from a local high school, or receive a GED from the state. The legislation also requires a signed affidavit stating that the student has filed an application for “lawful status” with federal authorities, or promising to do so as soon as possible.

Ten other states have adopted similar policies, including Texas, California, New York and Illinois, according to the International Institute of Rhode Island.

It’s unclear how much the change would cost the state, if anything.

Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement suggested yesterday that the state’s colleges and universities would lose tuition worth $1.6 million. But House spokesman Larry Berman suggested the bill would generate new revenue, given that the affected students probably wouldn’t attend college otherwise.

Domingo Morel agrees.

A University of Rhode Island academic adviser, Morel has spent much of the last 10 years helping to push the state’s high school students into higher education.

“If these students are not provided with this opportunity, they will not be attending any of our state colleges,” he told the House Finance Committee. “We’re not just talking about Latino students from the city of Providence, we’re talking about Russian immigrants from Pawtucket, we’re talking about Portuguese immigrants from East Providence and so forth. It’s very clear that this is impacting our entire state.”

Johnston resident Bruno “Buddy” Tassoni argued that now isn’t the time to change the law.

“Letting these people go into college is going to act like a magnet for more illegals to pour into this country,” he testified. “We have already paid up ’til grade 12 to educate these people who are in this country illegally. We more than did what we should have done.”

Sitting in the back of the hearing room yesterday, Amanda Pereira cringed as some of the critics spoke.

“The way they speak of us, it’s like we’re nothing and we’re worthless,” she said, noting that her family is here legally and has been waiting for the government to process their paperwork since 2001. “They call us aliens as though we have green skin.”

The House panel did not take a vote yesterday.

Berman, the House spokesman, said it’s too early to say if legislative leaders support the bill. It’s been introduced five consecutive years without passage.

speoples@projo.com