JACKSON, Miss. – A group of people joined together to discuss giving in-state tuition to undocumented students that have lived in Mississippi.
The hearing was held March 17 at the Capitol.
Lawmakers, educators and a student that is personally effected by this attended the hearing to discuss the issue.
Some advocates for the bill said that these people that have come from Mexico, Canada, and other countries to live in America have helped rebuild and make Mississippi a better place. One woman said,” These people came to America for the safety of their own children and to keep from being killed and kidnapped in Mexico. These kids are safe here. Not allowing these kids a chance to recieve a good education is just wrong and we need to do the right thing here.”
Adrian Gamboa currently attends Jefferson Davis Community College where he pays nearly twice as much as what his friends and classmates pay that went to the same high school he did.
“They pay half of what I do each semester because they are legal citizens and I am not, even though I have lived here since I was twelve years old.” Bamboa says, “After my two years are up at my community college I want to attend Ole Miss to pursue a career in business, but as of now I am being stopped because of the out of state tuition I am paying.”
Federal law only allows providing education to students in grades kindergarten through their senior year of high school to undocumented people. Whether in-state tuition is provided or not is left up to the state. Nearly 800 to 1,000 people in Mississippi would be affected by this bill if there were to be a change in law.
