Bill would give illegal immigrants financial aid
By admin at 12 February, 2009, 6:16 pm
A proposed bill in Washington state would allow students who entered the country though illegal immigration to be eligible for financial aid for college.
The new bill would allow the students, who already receive reduced rates at Washington colleges for in-state tuition, to become eligible for the $182 million in financial aid that was distributed to the state’s students in 2008.
But critics of the bill say it would take money away from students who are in the country legally and would reward those who are breaking the law.
“I want to know what you’re going to tell those students who are U.S. citizens - ‘I’m sorry we gave your money to other people who were here illegally?’” Bob West, a member of Grassroots of Yakima Valley asked legislators, according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
The bill would allow illegal immigrants with a family income under $37,500 to apply for up to $6,000 a year in financial aid to attend a public university.
According to the Seattle Times the bill would primarily help Latino immigrants. The paper says the state’s Latino kindergarten to 12th grade population grew 372 percent over the last 20 years.
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