01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, May 18, 2006

BY ELIZABETH GUDRAIS
Journal State House Bureau

PROVIDENCE -- If states have a responsibility to provide all students, even illegal immigrants, with a solid education, does that responsibility also include a college education?

That was the question in a State House hearing yesterday, as lawmakers and advocates debated extending in-state college tuition rates to all Rhode Island high-school graduates, regardless of immigration status. Currently, noncitizen students must provide a permanent resident card to qualify for in-state tuition.

"Limiting access to education has never proved to be a good thing for any country or state," said state Rep. Grace Diaz, D-Providence, who sponsored the in-state tuition bill.

The two-hour hearing included some emotionally charged moments. A statement from Johnston resident Bruno Tassoni -- "If you're an undocumented immigrant, you're a criminal in our country" -- met with gasps of outrage from the audience. (The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in December that would make illegal entry into the country a felony.) At one point, state Rep. Arthur J. Corvese, D-North Providence, locked into a heated exchange about racism with Wilfred Ordonez, a community organizer for Progreso Latino.

"Racism is real, and it has existed throughout the entire history of our country," Ordonez told the committee.

"There can be a legitimate dialogue and discourse without any racist motivation," Corvese responded. "You cannot run to the racist card every time someone disagrees with your opinion."

Major questions remain about the bill's financial impact. The difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition is $7,312 a year at Rhode Island College and $12,642 a year at the University of Rhode Island.

William T. Gorman, speaking for the group Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement, calculated the measure could cost the state up to $4 million a year in lost tuition.

But the bill's backers say Gorman's estimate is flawed because it assumes hundreds of illegal immigrants currently attend the state's public colleges and pay full tuition. In fact, the measure would open the option of college to students who otherwise couldn't afford it, Evelyn Duran, a Brown University student speaking for the group Immigrant Students in Action, said.

"No one is going to be losing revenue," Duran said. "On the contrary, they will be contributing."

The students would not be eligible to receive financial aid from the state or federal government, Duran added.

Providence City Councilman Luis A. Aponte estimated that a fifth of students at Central High School are illegal immigrants -- an estimate he said was based on anecdotal evidence. Hard numbers don't exist, because school departments do not track students' immigration status.

Elizabeth Burke Bryant, executive director of Rhode Island Kids Count, extrapolated the U.S. Census Bureau's numbers for noncitizen children in Rhode Island, then doubled the estimate to err on the side of caution, in case of undercounting. Her result: If 32 percent of noncitizen children go on to attend the state's public colleges -- the same rate as Rhode Island high-school seniors overall -- it would mean 191 additional students would qualify for in-state tuition each year.

URI President Robert L. Carothers testified that the bill would not cause problems with classroom capacity at the university. However, he asked the committee to consider removing a sentence that would prohibit public institutions of higher education from sharing information on students' immigration status with "any governmental or nongovernmental agency." Carothers said the university is required to report such information to the federal government, and faces penalties if it doesn't.

Were that provision removed, Carothers said he would support the bill. "We certainly want to have more young people graduating and making their way to higher education," he said.

Rhode Island will, no doubt, be watching a federal court case challenging a similar law in Kansas and a lawsuit in California challenging that state's policy of allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition. The plaintiffs in the California case, three dozen University of California students, claim the policy discriminates against out-of-state students who are U.S. citizens.

During yesterday's hearing, several members of the House Finance Committee voiced support for Diaz' bill. Two committee members, Thomas C. Slater and Anastasia P. Williams, both Providence Democrats, are cosponsors. However, Rep. Steven M. Costantino, the committee chairman, said he would need to see any proposed amendments and gauge committee members' sentiment before knowing whether the bill would come to a vote.

egudrais@projo.com / (401) 277-7045