On Tuesday a House panel in Tennessee narrowly rejected a proposal to offer in-state tuition to undocumented public school students who came to the United States as children. The defeat of the proposal left a number of students that were present visibly upset; some were weeping. The bill was defeated 7-6 by the House Education Administration & Planning Council.
In 2015 the Senate passed a similar bill but just one vote killed it on the floor of the House of Representatives. Washington DC is just one of 21 other states in which similar in-state tuition policies are already in place for immigrant students in similar circumstances, with the out of state rate in Tennessee costing up to as much as three times the expense paid by actual state residents.
Memphis Representative Mark White, the Republican who sponsored the bill, says that such individuals had no choice whether or not to enter the United States when they had arrived as children, and they are being victimized by the inaction of the federal government despite having essentially lived in Tennessee their entire lives. White conceded it was going to be a tough vote within the Republican state, particularly given the often bitter fight over immigration policies currently being fought on a national level, noting that his support for the idea had resulted in him receiving abusive emails.
White insists the legislation matches with the values of the Republican Party, despite the anti-immigration policies of President Donald Trump, saying that Republicans support those who are willing to go to school or work every day to improve their lives.