For millennials between the ages of 25 and 32, a wide disparity in yearly earnings exists between those who have a college degree and those who do not. According to Pew Research, the median yearly salary for college graduates age 25–32 is $45,500, compared to a median yearly salary of $28,000 for workers with only a high school diploma. This earning gap is expected to grow in the coming years. What does this mean for the next generation of Americans? Apparently, a college education is almost essential in today’s economy.
The problem is compounded for the approximately 65,000 undocumented students who graduate from U.S. high schools each year; entering and paying for college is far more complicated than for their documented peers. First, their chances of being able to attend a state university depend completely on the state where they live and the state’s tuition equity legislation, which includes policies that allow undocumented students to attend public institutions of secondary education. Tuition equity differs widely from state to state, ranging from Alabama, which bans enrollment for undocumented students, to California, which allows undocumented students to enroll in public universities and apply for financial aid and scholarships.
In 2001, Texas became the first state to pass tuition equity legislation with House Bill 1403, otherwise known as the Texas DREAM Act. This bill granted certain undocumented students access to in-state tuition rates and state-funded financial aid at public universities. To be eligible, students must have graduated from high school or received their GED in Texas, lived in Texas with a guardian for at least three years leading up to their graduation, and signed an affidavit stating that they will seek resident status as soon as possible. Four years later, Texas passed Senate Bill 1528, which allowed students who met the above guidelines to apply to Texas colleges and universities as Texas residents. Such legislation, which broadens access to financial aid and in-state tuition rates, has become increasingly important in a country where 62 percent of the population believes that college education at a state university is unaffordable.
Fast forward to 2015, and the Texas Legislature is revisiting the issue of tuition equity. The 84th Legislature at the beginning of this year introduced two bills, HB 209 and HB 360, which would, in essence, repeal Texas’ existing tuition equity legislation and therefore make undocumented students ineligible for any in-state benefits.
We know that an educated population is important and necessary for the success of society and the economy. Then why are some Texans determined to repeal tuition equity legislation? One of the major criticisms of tuition equity legislation is the cost of giving certain undocumented students access to financial aid. Essentially, Texans are worried about the cost to taxpayers of educating the undocumented population — when in fact, the amount is not that much. Relative to Texas’ total education spending, the cost of giving undocumented students access to in-state tuition rates and financial aid is a tiny piece of the pie. In fiscal year 2012, only 1.1 percent (or 20,049) of students enrolled in Texas public universities, state colleges, community colleges, and technical institutes benefited from the Texas DREAM Act. In the same year, only 2,819 undocumented students received state grant aid, which totaled $9.56 million, or only about 2 percent of all state-supported aid. In return, undocumented immigrants in Texas pay about $40 million toward post-secondary education and about $1.6 billion in state and local taxes annually.
Though neither of the bills designed to repeal the Texas DREAM Act passed in the 84th legislature, their introduction indicates an anti-immigrant shift in policy that would effectively destroy the social mobility of undocumented populations and negatively impact all Texas residents, documented or not.
While the Texas DREAM Act is still in effect, its repeal has support from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Gov. Greg Abbott has said that he would not veto a repeal of the act. With the election of a significantly more conservative Texas Senate in 2014, the possibility of repeal continues to be a concern, even in a state with 3.8 million eligible, voting-age Latinos, a demographic group that tends to back the DREAM Act nationwide. It is imperative that Texans support tuition equity, the students it benefits, and the legislators that protect it, in order to preserve Texas as a state that champions secondary education for all residents.
Danya Kachkou is a Rice University junior and an intern for the Baker Institute Mexico Center.