Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have allowed international students to be treated like in-state students.
The consequences could mean big money for these students.
Governor said his action on the bill was due to the bill's implications on the state's budget. A prominent immigrant rights activist said the bill was tainted and still had a chance to be recast and sent through the process again. The bill would have allowed immigrant students a broader range of financial aid.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 160, also known as The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act).
Currently, undocumented students are eligible to pay the California resident fee instead of the more expensive non-resident fees. These students are called "AB 540" students, named after the assembly bill 540 that made it legal.
This is the second attempt that California legislature has made to permit AB 540 students the eligibility to receive student aid from the government. Last year's senate bill was SB 160, which was also vetoed by the governor on Sept. 30, 2006.
This bill would have allowed students who are undocumented to be eligible for the student financial aid program. They must have attended a high school for three or more years before the 2001-2002 Fall semester and file an affidavit to apply for citizenship. Despite State Senate and Assembly support, Schwarzenegger sent the bill back without his signature, citing strain on the General Fund in his veto message.
Average UC non-resident undergraduate fees for the 2007-2008 year is projected at $27,027 while the average resident fee is set at $6,638 per year. The University of California increased their fees for resident undergraduate students seven percent or $435. Nonresident undergraduate fees have increased five percent or about $900.
Robert Rettenmaier, a senator at large for Palomar Community College, represents a part of the tenth region in the Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC). He agrees with Governor Schwarzenegger.
"The idea in itself is good, but where are you gonna find the funds to make it happen?" he asked.
Hilda Gaytor, the Secretary of Student Senate for California Community Colleges disagrees.
"I don't think it's going to deteriorate the economy. (Illegal immigrant students) pay taxes. But people don't see it that way."
Enrique Morones, activist for immigrant rights and founder of the Border Angels, agrees with some parts of The DREAM Act.
"It depends on how it's drafted," said Morones. "In general, I'm in favor of it because what it does is it provides children that had no say why they're here without documents an opportunity to pay in-state tuition and a pathway to legalization."
Morones also argued that undocumented people come here illegally because they are too poor to qualify for visas.
"The people that are coming here legally are different," he said. "They can come here legally, that's why they get a visa. [Because] they're not poor. Their dads are engineers and lawyers. So of course, they're going to college."
To Phil Saenz, a Southwestern College political science professor, its an issue of choosing where the budget goes. He says the immigration issue has detracted attention from the issues facing Latino-Americans. He says he is very concerned about the immigrant's plight.
"If it comes down to budget priorities, we should be primarily concerned with spending resources on Mexican Americans and other Latino Americans before immigrants, due to our alarmingly low graduation and college admission rate," said Saenz.
Saenz was also concerned about the possibility of immigrant students taking the spots in college that American students may have taken.
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