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ASHEBORO Some state community college leaders say they want to reopen their doors to illegal immigrants.
At a meeting Thursday, members of the State Board of Community Colleges said they favor reversing a ban that has kept undocumented students out of degree programs at the state's 58 community colleges for the past year. It was the board's first public discussion of the issue since it exploded into a statewide controversy in late 2007.
Dr. Stuart Fountain, a retired Asheboro dentist who heads the board's policy committee, said the colleges should not stand in the way of any person who wants an education.
“Without this option, we are creating a second-class citizenry,” Fountain said.
“These young people are here with basically no fault of their own,” said Joanne Steiner, a board member from Wake Forest. “I am highly opposed to creating a subculture of people who have no hope.”
The four board members who attended the committee meeting at Randolph Community College agreed unanimously to draft a policy that would allow the admission of undocumented immigrants who graduated from U.S. high schools – the same policy the UNC system uses.
As at UNC schools, the students would pay out-of-state tuition. The cost to out-of-state students is about $7,000 per year.
It was the board's first step toward crafting a policy since August, when it agreed to hire a consultant to study how other states handle the issue. The $75,000 study found that only one other state, South Carolina, bars illegal immigrants, and that students paying out-of-state tuition would not burden state taxpayers.
However, it will take several more months of meetings and discussion, along with a months-long administrative review, before any policy becomes final. It will be at least September before the full 21-member board, which includes Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and State Treasurer Janet Cowell, vote on the policy.
The decision is sure to be politically dicey.
Activists who favor a crackdown on illegal immigration have promised noisy protests if undocumented students are admitted. And legislators could try to reverse the decision by passing a law that permanently bars illegal immigrants from the state's colleges.
Board members acknowledged that Thursday, but said they felt that keeping an open door to all students, regardless of immigration status, was the right move.
“I just pray that they can afford to pay (out-of-state tuition),” said Jimmie Ford, a board member from Goldsboro.
Community college presidents, trustees and admissions officers who attended the meeting Thursday also voiced their support for allowing illegal immigrants to get degrees.
“It's not just these children,” said Jean Groome, admissions director at Forsyth Tech. “It's the example that is set for their children and their children's children.”
