HB 191, Nonresident Tuition Waiver, Passes the House, by Gaby Rodriguez

H.B. 191, introduced by Representative Carl Wimmer (R), would require undocumented students attending post secondary school to pay out of state tuition. Right now in Utah, undocumented students can pay in state tuition, if they attend a Utah high school for at least 3 years and graduate. If this bill becomes law, undocumented students would loose the privilege of paying in state tuition for college. The difference between in state tuition and out of state tuition in Utah is between 5,000 and 20,000 dollars a year.

As of last week, this bill passed the house committee with 10 votes in favor of the bill and 5 votes against. The representatives that voted in favor are: Brown, M., Clark, D., Dougall, J, Fisher, Julie, Froerer, G., Harper, W., Newbold, M., Nielson, J., Painter, P., Wimmer, C. The representatives who voted against are: Briscoe, J., Butterfield, D., Cosgrove, T., Duckworth, S., King, B.

Yesterday, Feb. 28, Wimmer uncircled the bill, and after a couple of amendments, HB 191 was passed in the house, which means that the bill will now move to a senate committee.

This bill matters to undocumented students aspiring to receive a college education because it affects their ability to afford college. These students want to help their community by going to school. If this bill passes, it will add many obstacles for undocumented students trying to achieve their dreams.

I interviewed students at West High School about their opinions on H.B. 191. I found opinions both in favor and against the bill. One of the students interviewed, Megan Dukr, a Caucasian female born and raised in Utah, was in favor of the bill. She said, “With more undocumented students going to college in Utah, the legal citizens will have less jobs.” Another student, Hanis Ibit, an African-American male raised in Utah, said, “Less students will go to college [if this bill passes], and our generation is not going to have as many educated people, due to the lack of students attending post secondary school.”

Teachers at West High shared their opinions as well. Miss Adrito a math teacher said, “we’re closing doors to kids that actually want to improve their life’s by getting education.” Another gear up instructor, named Ms. Julie, said "this bill affects me when my tax money pays for undocumented [students] to attend college."

My personal opinion is that, this bill should not pass. We should not hinder those individuals who want an education. Even if they are undocumented, many students didn’t have a choice to move to this country. A lot of undocumented students were brought, by their parents, to the US at a young age. If this bill passes, all we are doing is closing doors on who could be tomorrow’s great leaders.