DENVER –
The Colorado Senate killed a proposal Monday that would have allowed illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities.
Five Democrats joined with Republicans to defeat the bill in a 18-16 vote after a three-hour debate.
Senate Bill 170 would have allowed students who are in the country illegally and who have graduated from Colorado high schools to pay in-state tuition plus the cost of a state stipend that other Colorado students receive.
Backers said these students shouldn’t be punished for the laws their parents broke in coming to the United States. Opponents argued it would have violated a federal law that bars states from offering illegal immigrants any benefit that’s not given to citizens from other states.
Lawmakers then voted to change the bill to say it would take effect only if the federal law is changed through the DREAM Act pending in Congress, but that amended version was defeated. Republicans accused majority Democrats of trying to have it both ways since Democrats initially argued that they believed the bill, similar to ones passed in 10 other states, was legal.
Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, was among the Democrats who voted no. He said he was upset the fight on the issue had come to overshadow the debate on the overall state budget, which includes a recommended $423 million cut to higher education that could put some schools at risk of closing. About $100 million is set to be offset with federal stimulus money.
“I’m frustrated that we have a budget we can’t even balance,” said Isgar, who added that about 70 percent of his constituents opposed the bill. Even though illegal immigrant students would have to pay more than Colorado residents, Isgar said he thought the state would still end up paying more to support the extra students when things are already tight.
Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, who also voted no, said she listened to her constituents but didn’t elaborate.
Other Democrats who voted against the bill were Sen. Morgan Carroll of Aurora, Sen. Lois Tochtrop of Thornton and Sen. Moe Keller of Wheat Ridge.
Lawmakers said they received hundreds of e-mails and voice mail messages mostly urging them to vote against the bill, although Hispanic organizations have been waging a lobbying effort in favor of the bill. On the morning of the debate, Federico Pena, Denver’s first Hispanic mayor, came to the Capitol to urge fellow Democrats to “do the right thing” and vote for the bill. He acknowledge some were afraid they might lose re-election if they backed the bill, but he told them Latino voters would be there to support “strong Democrats”.
After the defeat, Pena said backers have to continue to educate the public and lawmakers about the measure, including explaining that the measure wouldn’t cost the state anything or hurt other Colorado students.
He said Latino voters would continue to support Democrats but not just any Democrats.
“They’re going to vote for Democrats who share their values,” said Pena, who watched the Senate debate along with former state Sen. Polly Baca.
The bill is dead for the year, but the issue may not be.
Democratic Sen. Chris Romer, who sponsored the bill, said Colorado is one of three states that won’t be able to offer in-state tuition to its illegal immigrant students even if Congress passes the DREAM Act, which stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors. The federal measure would allow illegal immigrants enrolled in college to become legal residents. But a bill passed with bipartisan support during Colorado’s 2006 special legislative session on illegal immigration bars giving state benefits to illegal immigrants with limited exceptions, such as emergency medical care.
Romer said other bills pending in the Legislature could be amended to prevent that 2006 law from stopping the state from offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants should the DREAM Act pass.
Finally, some sanity.
elguapo
4/6/2009 7:12:07 PM
Nice!
BiggieSmalls
4/6/2009 7:33:13 PM
Good job!
S_S_Mama
4/6/2009 7:35:35 PM
Faced with budget shortfalls and dwindling enrollment the spineless simps in the senate chose to refuse in-state $$ in favor of NO $$.
Priceless !!
Dr_Karma
4/6/2009 7:40:26 PM
Give it up Romer, what part of NO! don’t you understand.He can personally subsidize their education. What is scary is how close this bill came to becoming law.Federal reform on immigration is desparately needed.Why don’t they(backers), pursue assisting affected immigrants in either obtaining a legal status, or a valid student VISA, as other international students use.Of course this would not, in most cases afford them in-state tuition.
comcast777
4/6/2009 8:06:44 PM
Go smoke it, Romer! Glad you and your idiotic bill went down in flames.
meatpieandtatters
4/6/2009 8:15:34 PM
Of course our very own Boulder Senator, Dan Gibbs, evidently voted for the bill.
glock27
4/6/2009 8:56:28 PM
“Even though illegal immigrant students would have to pay more than Colorado residents”
I thought that the reason that people came here illegally is that the didn’t have the financial resources to come here legally.
Somebody should start telling unemployed americans that the jobs they don’t want pay well enough to send a kid to college.
bouldermeister
4/6/2009 9:24:03 PM
According to Federico Pena, Latino values include knowingly and willingly violating the laws of the United States of America.
snarlpup
4/6/2009 10:11:31 PM
snarlpup, when did he say that?I don’t know much about Federico Pena.
BiggieSmalls
4/6/2009 10:42:06 PM
Did I miss something, or was it just too tough for the Camera to insert how Boulder’s representative voted?
Here’s a post from Stan Weekes from “another channel”:
______________
Please thank these Democrats and all the Republicans.
The Vote on SB 09-170
A Special Thanks to:
* Sen. Morgan Carroll, of Aurora- No
* Sen. Lois Tochtrop, of Thornton- No
* Sen. Jim Isgar, of Hesperus- No
* Sen. Moe Keller, of Wheat Ridge- No
* Sen. Linda Newell, of Littleton- No
The Hall of Shame:
All Democrats:
* Sen. Bob Bacon, of Fort Collins- Yes
* Sen. Betty Boyd, of Lakewood- Yes
* Sen. Joyce Foster, of Denver- Yes
* Sen. Dan Gibbs, of Silverthorne- Yes
* Sen. Peter Groff, of Denver- Yes
* Sen. Rollie Heath, of Boulder- Yes
* Sen. Mary Hodge, of Brighton- Yes
* Sen. John Morse, of Colorado Springs- Yes
* Sen. Chris Romer, of Denver- Yes
* Sen. Paula Sandoval, of Denver- Yes
* Sen. Gail Schwartz, of Snowmass- Yes
* Sen. Brandon Shaffer, of Longmont- Yes
* Sen. Abel Tapia, of Pueblo- Yes
* Sen. Jennifer Veiga, of Denver- Yes
* Sen. Suzanne Williams, of Aurora- Yes
donwrege
4/7/2009 1:40:25 PM
Thanks Don,
One more for the Hall of Shame:
Democrat
* Sen. Evie Hudak, of Arvada- Yes
Stan_Weekes
4/7/2009 5:11:06 PM
Wake up.
http://www.wnyc.org/radiorookies/newbrighton/Christian.html
(also here, September 6 , 2008 (#100)- The In-between Show: http://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/resound_2008_september.asp )
http://www.wnyc.org/radiorookies/Mosholu/Vera.html
your_destination_town
4/8/2009 10:03:10 PM
I can’t believe that this was really being considered at all.Allowing instate tuition for someone who is not a resident, or even an American.Wow!So, since my kid goes to an out of state school, they should get instate tuition, as it is not their fault that I choose to live in Colorado.
It will be interesting if they did allow instate, and the students had to put down their address.Would this then allow ICE to pickup their parents and deport them?
This type of thinking will actually move toward more illegal immigration, as it would be more affordable to put your kids through US colleges that way.Wait until the Middle East and Asian parents start doing the same thing.
Thanks for publishing the Hall of Shame.We need to start pounding them as to who is going to pay for this and ensure they are not elected the next time around.
randysom@yahoo.com
4/19/2009 9:23:50 AM
