Gov. Scott McCallum is working on a plan that would allow foreign students without permanent visas to attend UW schools and receive in-state tuition benefits.
The plan would benefit children of illegal residents who have grown up in Wisconsin and are seeking higher education at UW schools.
Debbie Monterrey-Millett, press secretary for the governor said McCallum tried to pass this amendment as part of the budget bill in August.
“[McCallum] had to veto part of the bill because he found that under federal law you can’t give illegal residents privileges that you don’t offer residents,” Monterrey-Millett said.
The addition to the budget bill, vetoed Aug. 30, would have allowed children of illegal residents to pay in-state tuition if they met certain requirements. To be eligible, students would have to: be Wisconsin residents for three years, have graduated from a Wisconsin high school and would require a signed affidavit promising they would apply for a permanent visa as soon as possible.
Monterrey-Millet said this act would affect very few people around the state but it is particularly important to the Hispanic community.
In a recent speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, McCallum unveiled plans to propose a measure that would allow UW chancellors the authority to grant in-state tuition based on merit.
McCallum will continue to search for a way for children of illegal residents to pay in-state tuition, said Monterrey-Millett.
“The governor still wants to find a way for those students to receive higher education,” she said. “He has been thinking about a special scholarship that could be offered, but he has not unveiled anything yet.”
It is against federal law to give higher education benefits to illegal immigrants if the benefits would not be available to legal residents. However, California and Texas have passed legislation similar to bills that McCallum vetoed.
Andy Janssen, spokesman for Rep. Pedro Colon, D-Milwaukee, said as long as students have gradated from Wisconsin high schools, they should be allowed to receive in-state tuition.
Janssen said it is not illegal to offer tuition benefits.
“For the purposes of tuition, these people are not residents of Wisconsin,” Janssen said. “They have established residency for the purpose; it’s not like we are making them citizens.”
