CSU to charge undocumented students more

Although the cloud of Proposition 187 looms over illegal immigrants who attend Cal State Long Beach, it has lifted temporarily because of a recent court decision banning California public colleges from implementing the measure.

But a storm of another sort is about to hit the state's undocumented students.

The California State University system has announced that system wide, all students who reside in this country illegally can expect a tuition increase beginning with the fall 1995 semester.

Fees will equal those currently paid by out-of-state and foreign students, which run approximately $8400 an academic school year for full-time enrollment.

What's more, there's a possibility that the increased fees might be retro-active for currently enrolled CSULB students who are undocumented citizens, said Gloria Kapp, director of financial aid and admissions at CSULB.

Back payments aren't the only tangle in the controversial new measure. Claudia Tokumoto, CSULB residency specialist said, "It's possible" that if student's who are under 19 years of age are unable to show that their parents are legal residents, the increased tuition could be implemented, regardless of the student's citizenship status.

The fee increase and the language that binds it was not decided by CSU, but rather a 2nd District Court of Appeals in January.

In that January decision of the American Association of Women vs. The California State University Board of Trustees, the court ruled that all currently enrolled students, as well as those students seeking admission into CSU, whose status with the Immigration and Naturalization Service is considered undocumented, will be regarded as non-residents for tuition purposes beginning with the fall semester 1995.

The AAW vs. CSU ruling reversed a 13-year policy, which granted in-state fees to illegal immigrants as long as they could prove residency in California.

Linda S. MacAllister from CSU's Office of General Council said, CSU is not planning an appeal on the January ruling.

CSULB President Robert Maxson said, "We must follow the laws of California. The courts have ruled on this and we must follow the decision. In doing so, I think we should show great sensitivity to those that may be impacted."

Hebel Rodriguez, 20, a CSULB criminal justice major and a member of La Raza said, "It's unfair. At this point we're [La Raza] looking into the matter to see if we can take legal action."

Rodriguez is a permanent resident in the United States.

Historically, Rodriguez said, immigrants have looked to the United States for opportunity. "Now we're taking opportunity away from them," he said.

Maxson said no state or university scholarships are available to help students who might be affected. "Any help that the students might receive would have to come from the private sector," he said.

Both the University of California and California Community Colleges already charge undocumented students out-of-state fees.

Enrollment Services at CSULB is in the process of contacting all currently registered students who have not provided proof of citizenship according to university records.

Kapp estimated the number of undocumented enrolled students to be approximately 150.

Students applying for admission at CSULB for fall 1995 were contacted last week, Kapp said, if they did not provide proof of citizenship at the time of their application. She said the number of undocumented applicants is somewhere around 280 at this time.

With all the commotion over increased fees, Steve MacCarthy, director of Public Affairs for CSU's Office of the Chancellor, said that if Proposition 187 is ever legally implemented, "the issue of increased fees will be mute," because illegal immigrants will not be able to attend California public colleges.

But as it currently stands, all public colleges in California are prohibited from implementing Proposition 187 pending further litigation.

In March, the San Francisco Superior Court case of Jesus Doe, et al., vs. The Regents of the University of California, et al., the court issued a preliminary injunction, barring the CSU and all California public colleges from enacting Sections 8 and 9 of Proposition 187. Those sections deal with student admissions and registration in higher education.

The provisions of the San Francisco ruling are: "a. Students and applicants will not be prohibited from attending or continuing in their enrollment based on the provisions of Sections 8 or 9 of Proposition 187.

b. Students and applicants will only be asked to verify their immigration status for the sole purpose of determining their residency status for tuition purposes.

c. No information regarding any student applicant will be transmitted to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, directly or indirectly, pursuant to Sections 8 or 9 of Proposition 187."

A further trial date has not been set, MacAllister said. While advocates of Proposition 187 are scrambling to get the law enforced, some administrators at CSULB are criticizing the move because the number of undocumented students who attend institutions of higher education is very small. "Less than 1 percent of the total CSU population has been found to be undocumented. That's an insignificant amount," MacCarthy said. "The proponents of 187 don't realize the personal tragedies involved here."

MacCarthy said the total CSU enrollment is somewhere around 320,000. Out of that total, only about 1,000 are undocumented, he said.

While the number of illegal immigrants attending institutions of higher education has often been blown out of proportion, MacCarthy said, so have other issues.

"There are misconceptions surrounding undocumented students. Some people believe these students graduated from Guadalajara High and then rushed up to the United States to attend a university. It's not the case," MacCarthy said.

"Most of these students attended grade school and high school in the United States," he said. "They've lived here almost all of their lives."