An Ohio House bill introduced last fall aims to reverse an earlier state decision that allows students, brought illegally into the country as children, subsidized tuition.
The Ohio Board of Regents interpreted this summer that students could be deemed Ohio residents for the purpose of receiving in-state tuition at Ohio, public universities under President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Ohio University has not yet granted in-state tuition to any DACA recipients, but has been considering implementing the policy on a case-by-case basis following the board’s decision, said Candace Boeninger, assistant vice provost and director of undergraduate admissions, in an email.
About 17 percent of OU students on all campuses were nonresidents in Fall 2012, according to university data.
“We have been working with DACA students individually and have begun preparing our systems and processes to facilitate the change directed by the (Ohio Board of Regents’) Chancellor,” Boeninger said.
House Bill 254, which was last discussed by state representatives in December, has the potential to be fairly contentious — Ohio Administrative Code defines a recipient of in-state tuition to be one “who is qualified as a resident to vote in Ohio and receive state public assistance.” DACA recipients are not eligible to vote.
“According to The Board of Regents, Ohio doesn’t currently offer in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants, but the state does offer those rates to the children of undocumented workers who qualify as Ohio residents,” said State Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-Athens, in an email. “That policy is based on residency as defined by the Chancellor of the Board of Regents.”
State Rep. Wes Retherford, R-Hamilton, who introduced the bill alongside State Rep. Matt Lynch, R-Chagrin Falls, said in a House committee hearing on Dec. 4 that illegal immigration is a “serious and growing problem” and that “illegal immigrants” cost Ohio taxpayers an estimated $879 million annually.
“We should not allow the federal government to dictate policy in Ohio ... When Congress refused to pass the Dream Act in 2010, it did so because it is clear that extending public benefits to illegals would only serve to encourage more illegal immigration,” Retherford said in the committee hearing.
He also called out Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine for using “contorted logic” in his decision to allow DACA recipients to receive in-state tuition in the first place.
DeWine hasn’t taken a stance on the legislation, said his office’s spokesman, Dan Tierney.
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