Plan would allow some Georgia colleges to ban illegal aliens

Illegal immigrants would be barred from attending the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and any other public college that doesn’t have the space to admit all academically qualified applicants, under a recommendation a state committee approved Tuesday.

The committee assembled by the State Board of Regents also recommended that all Georgia colleges verify every admitted student seeking in-state tuition to determine if the student is in the country legally. Illegal immigrants are not eligible for in-state tuition.

The regents are scheduled to vote on the suggested policy changes next month. If approved, the changes would be in effect with applications for the fall 2011 semester.

"We find ourselves in debate over a very, very insignificant number of students," said Regent Jim Jolly, who chairs the committee. "But we recognize this is not an insignificant issue. It is a political and emotional issue and I think we have made good progress in addressing the concerns out there."

Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, said there is more that the regents should do. Balfour and other Georgia lawmakers have said a new law will be introduced to bar illegal immigrants from all public colleges.

“This is a good step, but I’m not sure it’s a good enough step,” Balfour said. “It will calm some of the concerns, but I don’t think it will stop the legislation from passing.”

Jerry Gonzalez, director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, said the committee's decision betrays the regents' mission to ensure access to quality higher education. While people are frustrated by the federal government's failure to enforce or reform immigration laws, universities should not be immigration cops, he said.

"These students were raised in Georgia and graduated with our kids from high school," Gonzalez said. "They competed and earned a place in our universities. This sets a bad precedent for our state."

Of the nearly 310,000 students attending the 35 campuses that make up the University System of Georgia, 501 are classified as "undocumented" students, according to data the committee released Tuesday. Students are classified this way because they did not provide documentation to determine their tuition status. While many say "undocumented" students are illegal immigrants, college officials said the terminology can include U.S. citizens who didn't turn in forms.

There has been public and political furor over these students since Kennesaw State University officials disclosed this spring that they charged an illegal immigrant in-state tuition. Illegal immigrants are allowed to attend Georgia’s public colleges but they must pay the much-higher out-of-state tuition rates.

Federal law allows states to decide whether to admit these students to public colleges, according to guidance from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A concern expressed by some lawmakers, students and others is that illegal immigrants take seats away from those who are in this country lawfully.

The approved recommendation attempts to address that issue by prohibiting these students from being admitted to any college that for the past two years has had to turn away academically qualified candidates because the campuses didn’t have enough space, Jolly said. The affected colleges --UGA, Tech, Georgia State University, Medical College of Georgia and Georgia College & State University -- have 29 undocumented students, according to university system figures. Those 29 students would be allowed to remain.

More than 470 undocumented students are enrolled at the state's remaining public colleges. The policy change, if adopted by regents, would not affect them.

Regent Larry Walker urged committee members to approve the recommendation, warning there would be ramifications with the Legislature if it is not passed. Lawmakers, he said, will attempt to take over the issue.

“It’s extremely bad politics on our part if we don’t do this,” Walker said.

Regent Larry Ellis voted in favor of the recommendation, but wondered about the lessons these students could provide as colleges prepare students for a global society. He questioned all the attention placed on a small group of students.

“Thirty kids out of 310,000,” Ellis said. “Give me a break.”

Regent Felton Jenkins was the only person to vote against the recommendation. Jenkins was concerned the regents are relinquishing some control over admissions policies to state lawmakers. He also questioned the policy's merits.

“We need to do what’s right, not what’s expedient,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right to turn down qualified people.”

System staff on the committee – including two college presidents and Chancellor Erroll Davis -- abstained. "We on staff are divided [in our] opinion of this," said Burns Newsome, vice chancellor for legal affairs.

Corey Boone, president of the student body at Georgia Tech, said students are not preoccupied with this issue. Their opinions, he said, might change if the number of undocumented students increased.

"Of course students who didn't get in probably care about this more," Boone said. "The fundamental question is, do these students deny other qualified students an opportunity to receive a high-quality education? It seems as though the new rule resolves that question."

Students admitted to the five colleges as well as any accepted student seeking in-state tuition would have to go through a verification process to determine if they are in the country legally under measures supported by the committee.

Each campus would verify students using a variety of options, such as Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, a federal database that typically charges 50 cents for each basic background check, and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is also handled by the federal government.

"These are all things we need to do to make sure our system is fool-proof," Jolly said.

Undocumented Students

The State Board of Regents classifies students as "undocumented" because they failed to provide appropriate documentation concerning citizenship after repeated efforts by college administrators. They may or may not be in the country illegally. The University System of Georgia has nearly 310,000 students this fall. Here are the number of undocumented students attending some Georgia colleges this fall:

Clayton State University - 6

Georgia College & State University - 0

Georgia Gwinnett College - 2

Georgia Tech - 4

Georgia Perimeter - 210

Georgia State University - 23

Kennesaw State University - 17

Medical College of Georgia - 0

Southern Polytechnic State University - 11

University of Georgia - 2

University of West Georgia - 5

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University System total - 501

*numbers are illegal aliens

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