Georgia's immigration proposals zero in on college benefits

Trying to tackle the challenges of the state's booming, young immigrant population, Georgia lawmakers are preparing to debate an issue that many consider critical to the integration of immigrant communities - access to higher education.

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Republicans seem to be backing down from legislation that would have barred undocumented immigrants from all public services, including K-12 education - which is federally mandated. Instead, Republican Sen. Chip Rogers of Woodstock has pre-filed a proposal for the upcoming legislative session that would stop state universities from granting in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants, regardless of how long they have lived in Georgia.

"If a benefit requires Georgia residency, you must have proof that you're a legal resident - that applies to somebody from Alabama or Guatemala," Rogers said.

In response, Sen. Tim Golden of Valdosta, chairman of the Senate's Democratic caucus, and Sen. Sam Zamarripa, D-Atlanta, promptly pre-filed legislation that would let the board of regents of Georgia's university system set admission policies.

"Our state has a long-standing policy that the board of regents is independent of government, because of a history of race relations," Zamarripa said. "The very few who make it to the top, (Sen. Rogers) wants to punish them."


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GA_XGR_IMMIGRATION_GAOL-?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-12-24-08-04-03

this is going to pull them in in like a magnet..

I do not know of ONE state that allows everybody to get in-state tuition. To get in-state tuition you HAVE to be a TAX paying member of that state. As long as you are paying Georgia income tax and sales tax, IMHO they would have a hard time saying they are not residents.