The Alabama Senate Education Policy Committee will meet on Wednesday to deliberate a bill that passed the House last week, allowing certain illegal immigrants to attend college.
House Bill 210 (HB210) by State Rep. Reed Ingram (R-Pike Road) would amend the state's prohibition against illegal immigrants enrolling in or attending any public postsecondary education institution. The bill would make exceptions for those who have attended a high school for three or more years, graduated, earned a GED certification, or completed other equivalent education, and have filed for a lawful presence in the United States.
The bill passed the House of Representatives last week, receiving bipartisan support from lawmakers.
Ingram presented the bill before the House, saying it was born from the labor shortage committee and would help bolster workforce participation from specific students who previously would have to leave the state for university education.
"These are the students that are wanting to better themselves," Ingram said. "These are the ones that are not going to end up on the street. These are the ones that have to apply for legal status and have to go to school in this country."
State Rep. Donna Givens (R-Loxley) applauded the bill, saying it would bolster the state's lackluster workforce participation.
"This is important to our workforce," Givens said. "It's important to our two-year and four-year college systems for us to pass this bill. For us to allow these students to get an education in our state."
State Rep. Brock Colvin (R-Albertville) generally supported the bill but said he had "heartburn" with it because students could receive grants and scholarships through the state's Education Trust Fund (ETF). Colvin said that schools in his district have already spent a significant amount of money on bilingual aids due to the high number of non-English-speaking illegal aliens.
Colvin offered an amendment that stated: "An alien who is not lawfully present in the United States that is permitted to enroll in or attend a public postsecondary education institution in this state pursuant to this subsection may not receive any state-funded postsecondary education financial aid in the form of scholarships or grants funded by the Education Trust Fund."
"My intent with this amendment is basically to prevent any more taxpayer money going to these kids to go to college," Colvin explained. 'I respect them wanting to go to college, but I think it's up to them to pay their own way to go to college because our state and country has already spent a lot of money to have these kids go to school."
Colvin's amendment received vehement backlash from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
"I represent poor people who are citizens, and they have a problem getting these services," said State Rep. Barbara Drummond (D-Huntsville). So I can only imagine that those folks who go to Baldwin County to pick potatoes or whatever the agriculture item is, they have a problem. They're not making any money. Would you say they're getting rich from doing this? They're getting wealthy."
State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville) said the amendment "guts the whole point" of the bill's purported workforce potentiation since students would still likely go out of state for education without public money.
"If they end up, because of the financial matter, leaving the state, then I think we've not helped our situation," Garrett said.
After several other lawmakers opposed the amendment, Colvin opted to withdraw it, and the bill passed with a vote of 89-10, with one abstention.
HB210 is one of four bills on the calendar for the Senate Education Policy Committee scheduled for Wednesday.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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