WASHINGTON — A Colorado law that allows illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition should be investigated for “discriminating against American-born students,” a civil rights watchdog charges.
The Equal Protection Project is calling on the Justice Department’s Division of Civil Rights to probe Colorado’s Advancing Students for a Stronger Tomorrow (ASSET) tuition program, arguing it is giving illegal aliens benefits that out-of-state Americans don’t get.
Existing federal law prohibits higher education institutions from giving benefits to illegal immigrants that are not afforded to American citizens.
“We have found a number of schools and indeed statewide systems that maintain scholarships that are available only to DACA and undocumented students, thereby discriminating against American-born students,” William Jacobson, Equal Protection Project president and founder, told The Post.
“These in-state tuition break laws are simply a variation on a theme which privileges people who are in the country illegally over US citizens. And so we think that’s an important issue.”
Under ASSET, prospective students without lawful immigration status can quality for in-state tuition and financial aid if they meet two requirements: they must have attended a Colorado high school for one year and they must have lived in the state for at least 12 consecutive months before applying for postsecondary school.
In-state tuition typically provides a considerable discount. For example, one undergraduate semester with 18 credits worth of classes at Colorado State University costs $6,762.13 for residents, compared to $18,277.41 for non-residents.
The Equal Protection Project team stumbled upon the ASSET program while investigating scholarships at Colorado’s Metropolitan State University that appeared exclusive to non-white students. Some of those programs were specific to ASSET students.
“Colorado’s ASSET law crosses that line by conferring in-state tuition and related taxpayer-funded postsecondary education benefits based on lenient Colorado residence criteria, while similarly situated U.S. out-of-state citizens remain ineligible,” the Equal Protection Project wrote in its Friday complaint.
Jacobson’s group highlighted examples of how the DOJ has filed lawsuits over similar laws in California and Virginia, while contending that Colorado’s ASSET program might even be worse, because it has looser requirements to accept illegal immigrants.
Virginia, for example, typically requires two years of in-state high school attendance and California three years, as well as graduation from a high school in the Golden State.
“Our view is that this law is as bad, if not worse, than California and Virginia,” Jacobson explained. “And so I would think the Justice Department would be interested in this. We want to call it to their attention very directly by filing a request for investigation.”
The Equal Protection Project compiled a list of 19 state laws that provide some form of tuition benefit to illegal immigrants, including Colorado, California, and Virginia.
“We will review each state, and if we think it’s warranted, request an investigation,” Jacoson explained. “We’re going to take it one state at a time. We’re not going to treat them with one broad brush, because they’re not identical, although they’re similar in theme.”
The Post contacted Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ (D) office for comment on the complaint.
Jacobson stressed that the Equal Protection Project is not challenging whether or not “students in the country illegally can go to school, can participate at university,” and that it is strictly focused on benefits given to illegal immigrants that some American citizens don’t get.