Another effort from the increasingly progressive Democratic Party in the Virginia General Assembly is moving forward to grant in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants protected by the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
H.B. 2388, sponsored by Delegate Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington), would declare “any individual who meets certain eligibility criteria and who has filed an application for permanent residency or asylum or is under the age of 27 and is the child of an individual who has filed an application for asylum” eligible for in-state tuition at institutions of higher education in Virginia. As well, the individual would remain eligible for in-state tuition as long as “continuous enrollment” is maintained and the application thereof has not been denied.
The bill also “prohibits any student who became eligible for in-state tuition as a result of his lawful presence in the United States pursuant to approval under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or any other federal deferred action program from being deemed ineligible for in-state tuition by virtue of the elimination or modification of any such program.”
In the State Senate, S.B. 1640, patroned by Senator Jennifer Boysko (D-Fairfax), would also grant “certain individuals who have applied for permanent residency” in-state tuition. The bill has also incorporated Senator Dave Marsden’s S.B. 1148 and S.B. 1055, which grants any DACA recipient “the capacity to intend to remain in the Commonwealth indefinitely” to receive in-state tuition charges at any public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth.
Currently, both bills are being considered in various committees, with Lopez’s legislation heading for the House Appropriations Committee.
Delegate Mark Keam’s (D-Fairfax) H.B. 1882 would also grant similar provisions to DACA recipients living in Virginia. The bill was assigned to the lower chamber’s Higher Education subcommittee.
More than 20 states now offer in-state tuition rates for undocumented immigrants. Virginia public colleges enrolled more than 1,400 DACA recipients last year, according to a report from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
If the legislation is passed and signed by Governor Ralph Northam (D), for example, at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), DACA recipients living in Virginia would only have to pay $14,490 in tuition and fees, much less than the $35,798 price tag for out-of-state students.