SALEM Ore. — The state House is scheduled to vote Friday on a measure allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition if they graduated from an Oregon high school.
The House has rejected similar measures twice before after they were passed by the Senate. This time, the measure has strong support from majority Democrats and some Republicans and is expected to pass.
Oregon requires university students to pay higher out-of-state tuition if they can’t prove they are legally in the United States. The bill’s supporters say young illegal immigrants shouldn’t be denied access to affordable higher education because their parents decided to migrate without authorization.
Critics say the state shouldn’t subsidize college tuition for people who can’t legally work in the United States.