A Georgia lawmaker in Columbus is taking a conservative approach towards immigration and education. State Senator, Josh McKoon, is planning to ban undocumented immigrants in Georgia from using in-state college tuition. Georgia law currently requires students without legal documentation stating their right to be in the US to be charged out-of-state rates of tuition, except in special circumstances.
But, in January 2017, legislators will have to consider a proposal from McKoon that would impact on thousands of students. The law McKoon is trying to pass would mean that only legal Georgia residents could use in-state tuition in the college and universities of Georgia.
McKoon insists that he is pro-immigration but only when it is legal immigration. McKoon has already received a mixed reaction for a Georgia religious freedom bill that he helped to champion. As well as continuing with that legislation, he also wants to clear up the confusion over in-state tuition at state universities and colleges being accessed by undocumented immigrants. McKoon says he believes that benefit should only be given to those with a legal right to live in the US because it is subsidized by ordinary taxpayers.
According to Columbus State University, just three out of over 8000 students were undocumented immigrants, and all three had to pay the full out-of-state tuition rate. At the moment, around a dozen public colleges and universities offer dispense waivers to certain undocumented immigrant students.