Madison Resolution for In-State Tuition for
Children of Undocumenteds:
Young Innocent Victims
Children of Undocumenteds:
Young Innocent Victims
| Javier Neira testified before the Madison Common Council in support of the city resolution in favor of granting ion-state tuition for children of undocumented immigrants on January 3rd. |
By Jonathan Gramling
During the administration of Governor James Doyle, the Wisconsin legislature
passed and Doyle signed a bill that gave the children of undocumented immigrants
the right to attend the University of Wisconsin and other public higher education
institutions by paying in-state tuition, which is dramatically lower than out-of-state
tuition. This bill allowed these students — many of whom have lived in Wisconsin
since they were infants — to attend college because the cost became low enough
where they could get by without federal financial aid.
However, this window of opportunity would soon close. Last year, the Walker
administration and the Republican-controlled legislature passed legislation
withdrawing the right for these students to pay in-state tuition.
On January 3, the Madison Common Council took up a resolution initially sponsored
by Mayor Paul Soglin and Alder Shiva Bidar-Sielaff — and eventually sponsored by
the entire Common Council — urging the Wisconsin state government to once again
allow these students to pay in-state tuition. In part, the resolution said, “Denying
education to children who were brought here without proper immigration
documentation only helps to create a permanent class of poor residents with a
greater risk of becoming dependent on social services ... it should be the policy of this state to create an educated population who can
contribute to our economy.”
This situation has become an important issue in the Latino community, especially among those who are working on education issues.
Salvador Carranza is outraged by the situation, which he feels violates one of the central tenets of the Declaration of Independence and the
Revolutionary War.
“We have this people in our communities who have been paying taxes like everyone else, many times for decades,” Carranza
emphasized. “And just because they don’t have a little piece of paper that says they have the right to be here, they can’t get in-state tuition.
They have the responsibility to pay the taxes, but on the other hand they don’t have any of the benefits from paying those taxes? That is
taxation without representation. The Boston Tea Party was about taxation without representation. All of their taxes weren’t coming back to
them. They were going to King George in England. That was the whole issue. It’s the same thing. The taxes that they are paying are not
going to help them or their kids in any way because they don’t have that little piece of paper that says they are authorized to be here.
This doesn’t make any sense at all. Someone might say, ‘Well we charge out-of-state tuition for citizens from another state.’ Well yeah,
those citizens from another state have never paid a dime in taxes to our state for our university. These children along with their parents
have contributed taxes. They have contributed millions of dollars.”
Javier Neira, a student support facilitator at Madison College, knows what it is like to go through this gauntlet to get an education. Neira
grew up in Madison and became involved with Centro Hispano, helping out with Fiesta Hispana and being active in their youth programs.
Neira was just like any other promising youth who excelled at school and won Centro Hispano scholarships. He was just like any other
promising youth, except that he didn’t have the residency documents that would qualify him for in-state tuition.
“I know three people who were getting their documents and the university denied them in-state tuition,” Neira said. “I am one of them. They
denied it to me because I didn’t have my permanent resident card, but I had my immigration papers saying that I was in the process of
becoming a resident. I know another person who at this moment is battling the University of Wisconsin for the in-state tuition and she will
get her permanent residency card in 3-4 months. But she might not be able to go to the university just because she has to pay $12,000.”
For students who are undocumented, it may take them 8-10 years to get their undergraduate degrees because they must work 2-3 jobs and
take the credits that they can afford to pay for. In many cases, this situation is robbing society of very smart and capable students who
could make large contributions to society if they weren’t being held back.
“They really want to contribute to this society,” Neira said. “It’s not like they want it for free. They are going to pay for their college. That’s
what they really want to do. But they feel that it should be fair. They want to work here, contribute to the economy and contribute to Social
Security. Baby boomers are retiring and these students need to contribute to this system. There is also economic sense to this. But imagine
someone who is 30 years old trying to get their bachelor’s degree and they are being restrained. They could have done it in four years and
they really wanted it and their parents are contributing to it. But they are paying $12,000 per semester. I understand that out-of-state tuition
is necessary for people who don’t live in Wisconsin, but they are still able to get federal financial aid for their education. These people can’t
even get a loan to go to school, so they have to pay cash.”
In the long run, everyone loses when these students are not able to fulfill their dreams.
contribute to our economy.”
This situation has become an important issue in the Latino community, especially among those who are working on education issues.
Salvador Carranza is outraged by the situation, which he feels violates one of the central tenets of the Declaration of Independence and the
Revolutionary War.
“We have this people in our communities who have been paying taxes like everyone else, many times for decades,” Carranza
emphasized. “And just because they don’t have a little piece of paper that says they have the right to be here, they can’t get in-state tuition.
They have the responsibility to pay the taxes, but on the other hand they don’t have any of the benefits from paying those taxes? That is
taxation without representation. The Boston Tea Party was about taxation without representation. All of their taxes weren’t coming back to
them. They were going to King George in England. That was the whole issue. It’s the same thing. The taxes that they are paying are not
going to help them or their kids in any way because they don’t have that little piece of paper that says they are authorized to be here.
This doesn’t make any sense at all. Someone might say, ‘Well we charge out-of-state tuition for citizens from another state.’ Well yeah,
those citizens from another state have never paid a dime in taxes to our state for our university. These children along with their parents
have contributed taxes. They have contributed millions of dollars.”
Javier Neira, a student support facilitator at Madison College, knows what it is like to go through this gauntlet to get an education. Neira
grew up in Madison and became involved with Centro Hispano, helping out with Fiesta Hispana and being active in their youth programs.
Neira was just like any other promising youth who excelled at school and won Centro Hispano scholarships. He was just like any other
promising youth, except that he didn’t have the residency documents that would qualify him for in-state tuition.
“I know three people who were getting their documents and the university denied them in-state tuition,” Neira said. “I am one of them. They
denied it to me because I didn’t have my permanent resident card, but I had my immigration papers saying that I was in the process of
becoming a resident. I know another person who at this moment is battling the University of Wisconsin for the in-state tuition and she will
get her permanent residency card in 3-4 months. But she might not be able to go to the university just because she has to pay $12,000.”
For students who are undocumented, it may take them 8-10 years to get their undergraduate degrees because they must work 2-3 jobs and
take the credits that they can afford to pay for. In many cases, this situation is robbing society of very smart and capable students who
could make large contributions to society if they weren’t being held back.
“They really want to contribute to this society,” Neira said. “It’s not like they want it for free. They are going to pay for their college. That’s
what they really want to do. But they feel that it should be fair. They want to work here, contribute to the economy and contribute to Social
Security. Baby boomers are retiring and these students need to contribute to this system. There is also economic sense to this. But imagine
someone who is 30 years old trying to get their bachelor’s degree and they are being restrained. They could have done it in four years and
they really wanted it and their parents are contributing to it. But they are paying $12,000 per semester. I understand that out-of-state tuition
is necessary for people who don’t live in Wisconsin, but they are still able to get federal financial aid for their education. These people can’t
even get a loan to go to school, so they have to pay cash.”
In the long run, everyone loses when these students are not able to fulfill their dreams.
