Supporters of a bill that would allow illegal aliens to pay in-state tuition packed a hearing room in the state Capitol building Wednesday morning to testify in favor of the bill.
The legislation, introduced by state Rep. Pedro Colon, D-Milwaukee, would qualify illegal immigrants and their children for in-state tuition provided they have a diploma or the equivalent from a Wisconsin high school and at least a year of residency following their first day of high school. They could enroll at a UW System school but would have to sign an affidavit saying they will file for permanent residency as soon as they are eligible.
\[The bill] would create more diversity on campus, which is what we're looking for,"" UW-Madison senior and Plan 2008 Committee Chair Leon Carlos Miranda said.
Seventy-one people testified in favor before the Assembly committee on Government Operations and Spending Limits, according to the committee clerk. Only one person testified against the bill: state Sen. Tom Reynolds, R-West Allis.
Reynolds' Chief of Staff, Steve Kreiser, said the senator objects to the bill for several reasons. It would be better if the students affected had to pay out-of-state tuition taxpayers subsidize in-state tuition. Illegal aliens do not pay income taxes, Kreiser said.
He said one of the few perks Wisconsin citizens get from their high tax rates is the excellent university system.
""They ought to really be getting the benefit of that, more so than folks who are illegal,"" he said.
""We have immigration laws in this country for a reason and someone who has chosen to violate those laws and is here in contravention of U.S. law ought not to be getting the benefits that we normally afford U.S. citizens,"" Kreiser added.
But Saul Castillo, who came representing the United Auto Workers Local 95, said illegal immigrants usually have jobs where social security and Medicare taken out of their paychecks, and then they do not file taxes and get their withholding back.
He said the bill would not give unfair perks to children whose parents do not have citizenship.
""Actually it makes it fair. I know their parents are paying taxes,"" Castillo said.
UW System spokesperson Erik Christianson said system has remained neutral on the bill, because it is unclear whether allowing the aliens to receive in-state tuition would violate a federal law prohibiting illegal aliens with benefits ordinary citizens cannot have.
