Higher Education for Immigrant Students

Each year, approximately 98,000 undocumented students graduate from high schools, sharing the same aspirations as their peers: to pursue higher education, build careers, contribute to their communities, and provide for their families.

NILC is dedicated to expanding educational opportunities for all students. This toolkit provides resources for students, advocates, and legislators interested in improving access to in-state tuition, financial aid, and scholarships for immigrant students.

Twenty five states and the District of Columbia have adopted “tuition equity” laws or policies that permit certain students who have attended and graduated from secondary schools in their state to pay the same tuition as their “in-state” classmates at their state’s public institutions of higher education, regardless of their immigration status.

About 84% of the nation’s foreign-born population live in states with tuition equity laws or policies, and other states are considering similar measures. In many of the states that have adopted these policies, support has been strongly bipartisan.

Intent and impact of these laws

Tuition equity laws are intended primarily to help young people who came to the U.S. at a young age and have worked hard in school with the hope of going to college but then discover that they face insurmountable obstacles.

Currently, public colleges and universities are inconsistent in their treatment of such students. A few schools deny them admission. If they are admitted, undocumented students in many states are charged out-of-state tuition, which is several times the in-state tuition rate. They are not eligible for federal financial aid, and the average income of their parents is low. Even those who are eligible for in-state tuition almost always need to work full-time throughout their college careers and may need to skip quarters or semesters due to these financial constraints.

Fairness to immigrant youth

The students who benefit from these policies tend to be goal-oriented and have high academic standing. Many do not realize until they are in the process of applying to college that their immigration status will affect their ability to pursue higher education. High school counselors have testified about the terrible task of breaking the news to such students that the dreams for which they have worked so hard may not come true.

Many parents are concerned that if their children are unable to advance, their discouragement could lead to behavioral and psychological problems, including severe depression.

Benefits to the state

Experience in the states that have adopted tuition equity laws or policies suggests that such policies help U.S. citizens and immigrants of all statuses by reducing high school drop-out rates, increasing the number of graduates who pursue a college degree, raising student incomes and tax contributions, and yielding an array of other economic and social benefits.

According to experts in the states that have adopted tuition equity laws or policies, the cost of implementing them has been negligible. In-state tuition is not the same as free tuition. It is a discount, but in fact, the money paid by these students often increases school revenues because it represents income that the institutions would not otherwise receive.

Our economic future depends on educating all young people. Young immigrants are key to addressing the serious demographic challenges that we face. As baby boomers age, the number of retirees in the U.S. will swell. People who attend college and obtain a professional job will increase their earnings and tax contributions and can help attract employers to the state who are seeking well-educated workers.

This map highlights the states that have adopted tuition equity laws or policies. In these states, students who meet certain criteria (like attending school in the state for a certain number of years), can pay in-state tuition regardless of their immigration status. It also displays the states where financial aid or scholarships may be available to these students. Finally, it marks the states where some or all public colleges deny enrollment to undocumented students.

Model Language for Tuition Equity Bills

We recommend that any tuition equity bill contain language to address these critical issues:

• The bill’s language should be as inclusive as possible, i.e., the bill should be written to help all the state’s students, including U.S. citizens and immigrants, regardless of their immigration status.
• To avoid a challenge in court, make sure the bill complies with 8 U.S.C. section 1623 by ensuring that U.S. citizens who meet the criteria would qualify to pay in-state tuition rates, regardless of whether they are state residents.

The model language below is typical of a state tuition equity bill or law that’s meant to help students who attended school in the state. We encourage you to use this language as a template and to make any appropriate revisions.

(1) An individual, other than a nonimmigrant within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(F), (a)(15)(H)(iii), (a)(15)(J) (including only students or trainees) or (a)(15)(M), shall be exempt from paying out-of-state tuition rates if the individual meets all the following criteria: (i) attended high school in [State] for [##] or more years, (ii) graduated from a [State] high school or attained the equivalent thereof, and (iii) is registered as an entering student, or is enrolled at a public institution of higher education in [State].

(2) Information obtained in the implementation of this section is confidential and shall be used or disclosed only for purposes of administering this program.

Note: In this table, you’ll notice variations of this language across bills.

Tuition equity laws have withstood legal challenges

Federal law does not prohibit states from allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates. Such a prohibition would have been simple to write, but Congress declined to do so. Rather, section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) prohibits states from providing any higher education benefit based on residence to undocumented immigrants unless they provide the same benefit to U.S. citizens in the same circumstances, regardless of their residence.

The states that provide in-state tuition to students who meet certain criteria regardless of immigration status have fully complied with this provision.