A Colorado law that allows illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition should be investigated for “discriminating against American-born students,” a civil rights watchdog charges.The Equal Protection Project is calling on the Justice Department’s Division of Civil Rights to probe Colorado’s Advancing Students for a Stronger Tomorrow (ASSET) tuition program, arguing it is giving illegal aliens benefits that out-of-state Americans don’t get.
Existing federal law prohibits higher education institutions from giving benefits to illegal immigrants that are not afforded to American citizens.
“We have found a number of schools and indeed statewide systems that maintain scholarships that are available only to DACA and undocumented students, thereby discriminating against American-born students,” William Jacobson, Equal Protection Project president and founder, told The Post.
“These in-state tuition break laws are simply a variation on a theme which privileges people who are in the country illegally over US citizens. And so we think that’s an important issue.”
Under ASSET, prospective students without lawful immigration status can quality for in-state tuition and financial aid if they meet two requirements: they must have attended a Colorado high school for one year and they must have lived in the state for at least 12 consecutive months before applying for postsecondary school.
In-state tuition typically provides a considerable discount. For example, one undergraduate semester with 18 credits worth of classes at Colorado State University costs $6,762.13 for residents, compared to $18,277.41 for non-residents.
The Equal Protection Project team stumbled upon the ASSET program while investigating scholarships at Colorado’s Metropolitan State University that appeared exclusive to non-white students. Some of those programs were specific to ASSET students. --->READ MORE HERE
A public university in Colorado has been hit with two federal civil rights complaints alleging that 20 scholarship programs are either illegally race-based or reserved for undocumented immigrants, The Post has learned.Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) is accused of flouting Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars institutions of higher learning that discriminate based on race or national origin from receiving federal funds.
The complaints by the Equal Protection Project, a legal watchdog, were filed with the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights on Friday.
“We think it’s outrageous that universities funded by the federal government would have scholarships that discriminate against American-born students,” William Jacobson, Equal Protection Project president and founder, told The Post.
Of the 20 MSU Denver programs in question, 11 appear to be race-based while nine are alleged to be open only to illegal immigrants and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
In most cases, the programs use vague language that doesn’t explicitly rule out non-minority students, but implies they won’t be favored for awards.
For example, the Stephen & Ruth Jordan Student Access Endowed Scholarship says preference is given to first-generation students as well as “members of an ethnic minority.”
Another, the Irv Brown Endowed Scholarship, spells out an award of $3,000 or more to “undocumented and international students.”
MSU Denver, founded in 1965, has a student population of approximately 17,000 undergrads and 57% of enrollees are non-white, according to the university’s own website.
The school boasts of its status as a “Hispanic-Serving Institution … committed to serving DACA and undocumented students.”
“MSU Denver seeks to promote an inclusive community of learners, an awareness and appreciation of diverse perspectives and identities, and the establishment of policies, practices, programs, and resources designed to embrace and enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion at MSU Denver,” the hompage proclaims. --->READ MORE HERE
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