Every time a state admits an illegal alien student to a public college or university at the in-state tuition rate, taxpayers in that state are on the hook for about two-thirds of the cost of that higher education. But for some families, the cost is much higher. Because not only are they subsidizing the cost of the illegal alien student’s education, their own child may be missing out on the only affordable opportunity he or she may have to earn a college degree.
College admissions are a zero-sum proposition. There is a finite number of seats available at these schools, which means that every slot filled by someone who is in the country illegally, means another student does not get in. We may not be able tospecifically identify which American student is left on the outside looking in, but there is an actual human being seeking to attain the education he or she will need to succeed in life who will not be attending that state school.
Those anonymous students who might have filled a seat occupied by an illegal alien are faced with a menu of bad options. The cost of a four-year education at a private university is prohibitively expensive for most American families, meaning that either the parents or the student (or both) must incur significant debt that will take years to pay off. Alternatively, the American student may have to opt for a community college or forego higher education altogether.
A downgraded or foregone higher education also comes with lifetime costs. A worker with an associate’s degree from a community college can expect to earn about $800,000 less over the course of their career than someone with a four-year bachelor's degree. The earning gap between those who do not continue their education beyond high school and those with a bachelor's degree balloons to about $1.2 million during their working lives. According to the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities “analyzing outcomes data from over 30 million students … public universities offer the greatest upward economic mobility.”
In addition to the diminished earning potential suffered by American students who lose out on opportunities to attend a four-year public university (and, potentially, post-graduate education), everyone else in those states stands to lose out. People who earn lower wages pay less in taxes, meaning a loss of hundreds of thousands in tax revenues for federal, state and local governments. Moreover, as American citizens, they may be eligible for many means-tested, taxpayer benefit programs available to lower wage-earners.
On the flip side, an illegal alien with a taxpayer subsidized degree from a state university is still an illegal alien. Under federal law, that individual, in most cases, will be ineligible for employment anywhere in the United States. Thus, taxpayers in the states that subsidize higher education for illegal aliens will see little or no return on that investment, while others who were shut out of those state universities will not realize their full potential.
Currently, 23 states and the District of Columbia offer in-state tuition subsidies to illegal aliens. Such policies are not only misguided; they are also patently illegal. Legislation enacted in 1996 clearly states, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizens or national is such a resident.” None of them extends tuition benefits to Americans who reside in other states.
In accordance with an executive order signed by President Trump in April, the Department of Justice has sued five states, challenging the legality of these policies. Two of those states, Texas and Oklahoma, have already agreed to repeal in-state tuition benefits to illegal aliens.
In the most recent case, filed on Sept. 2 against Illinois, DOJ asserted that the state’s policy amounts to “discriminatory treatment in favor of aliens not lawfully present in the United States over U.S. citizens is squarely prohibited and preempted by federal law.” Illinois, an avowed sanctuary state, will undoubtedly spend countless millions more taxpayer dollars in what is likely to be a losing effort to continue this benefit for illegal aliens.
The intent of Congress, when it enacted the law that effectively barred in-state tuition benefits for illegal aliens was not to be vindictive. It was meant to protect American taxpayers. Not only are taxpayers in nearly half the states not being protected from the direct costs of providing in-state tuition to illegal aliens, some are being hit with onerous indirect costs as a result. Nearly 30 years later, it is time for the courts to end this “discriminatory treatment” of Americans seeking a college education.
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