Matias is the kind of high school senior every university wants. He scored a 1290 on his SAT and has an A average. When he graduates in May, he will have eight to 12 college credits under his belt as a result of dual enrollment in college courses.
But Matias, who didn't want his full name used for fear of being deported to Argentina, probably won't attend college. He can't afford to.
As an undocumented immigrant, he must pay out-of state tuition -- $15,420 a year -- even though he has lived in South Florida for more than four years and will graduate with honors from a Florida high school. If he were here legally, in-state tuition would be a more manageable $2,913 at his school of choice, Florida International University.
''My parents can't afford out-of-state tuition,'' he says. ``Even if I got a job that would pay that much -- and I can't get a real job, either -- when would I have time to go to school? All I want to do is get an education and improve myself.''
Matias' dilemma is not unusual. Researchers estimate that as many as 2,000 Florida high school graduates who want to go to college are shut out every year by the high price Florida state schools charge undocumented immigrants. About two-thirds of those are in South Florida.
For the third year in a row, a bill has been filed in the Legislature that would allow Florida high school graduates without legal residency who have been in the country for at least three years to attend community colleges and universities at the resident rate.
Although the number of students that would be affected is small, the proposal is not a sure thing. Not at a time when college tuition costs are rising, the number of college-age students is growing, and state universities can be increasingly choosy about whom they admit.
Some parents worried about their own children's academic futures could take a dim view of lawmakers voting what amounts to a subsidy -- in-state tuition doesn't cover the cost of a college education -- to undocumented immigrants. Some opponents fear it could serve as an incentive, drawing more illegal immigrants to the state.
In the Senate, with a week left in the session, the legislation is still waiting to be scheduled on the Appropriations Committee calendar. In the House, it has been referred to the floor for a vote but no date has been set. The past two years, champions of these students have introduced similar legislation, only to see it die at the end of the sessions.
''We're talking about kids who have lived in this community for years and years, and they have become part of the community and lived by the rules,'' said Sen. Frederica Wilson, a Miami Democrat, one of the Senate sponsors. ``Now we tell them that they're no longer one of us and all the work they did to get through school doesn't count.''
OTHER STATES
Nine states -- Oklahoma, Utah, Texas, New York, California, Illinois, Washington and Kansas -- have laws that allow undocumented resident students to pay the same tuition rate as other state high school graduates. Florida is the only large state with a sizable immigrant population that charges these students out-of-state tuition.
Both Wilson and House sponsor Juan Zapata, R-West Kendall, see this as an issue of economics: A better-educated work force means more money in the economy, contributed by people with higher-paying jobs.
The two note that students who would qualify under this law have lived here for years and the state has already invested in their education. Most arrived as young children with their parents.
Under current immigration law, young people who are brought illegally to the United States by their parents or whose families overstay tourist visas have few avenues to ever gain legal U.S. residency. Federal measures to offer students who go to college or join the military a chance to gain legal residency have been stalled in Congress for almost two years.
Anielle, 19, came to South Florida with her parents from Haiti when she was a child. She took lots of science courses at Boyd Anderson High School in Fort Lauderdale, hoping to be a doctor. But her education ended last year when she graduated, because her family can't afford to pay out-of-state tuition.
Last March she went with a group of students to Tallahassee to speak at a rally and to lobby legislators but was severely disappointed when the bill didn't pass.
''How can I make them understand what this does to young people like me?'' she asks. ``I love school. I want to be a pediatrician. I want to be able to go to school and take classes. I will have a much brighter future.''
MENIAL JOBS
Priya Sampath, policy director for the Human Services Coalition, a nonprofit organization that promotes civic participation and access to health and human services, notes that the current law means that bright immigrant students, who might otherwise become professionals, will have to settle for low-paying menial jobs. Florida taxpayers pay about 75 percent of the cost of educating in-state students, but advocates note that undocumented immigrants pay the same taxes to fund education that all residents do.
''The cost [to the community] is tremendous because of the loss in manpower that can eventually contribute to the community,'' Sampath says.
A report for the coalition entitled Opening the Door to Florida Immigrant College Students cites several studies to back the group's claims, including a RAND Institute analysis that found that Hispanics with a bachelor's degree will pay more that twice as much in taxes during their working life as those with only a high school diploma.
Despite his academic credentials, Matias isn't sure what he will do after graduation if the law doesn't pass. Maybe try to find work, he says, but anything available to a person without proper work documents would probably be menial and low-paying. He hopes that one day his legal status will be settled.
''If given the opportunity, I know I will do well,'' he says. ``I just need the opportunity.''
But Matias, who didn't want his full name used for fear of being deported to Argentina, probably won't attend college. He can't afford to.
As an undocumented immigrant, he must pay out-of state tuition -- $15,420 a year -- even though he has lived in South Florida for more than four years and will graduate with honors from a Florida high school. If he were here legally, in-state tuition would be a more manageable $2,913 at his school of choice, Florida International University.
''My parents can't afford out-of-state tuition,'' he says. ``Even if I got a job that would pay that much -- and I can't get a real job, either -- when would I have time to go to school? All I want to do is get an education and improve myself.''
Matias' dilemma is not unusual. Researchers estimate that as many as 2,000 Florida high school graduates who want to go to college are shut out every year by the high price Florida state schools charge undocumented immigrants. About two-thirds of those are in South Florida.
For the third year in a row, a bill has been filed in the Legislature that would allow Florida high school graduates without legal residency who have been in the country for at least three years to attend community colleges and universities at the resident rate.
Although the number of students that would be affected is small, the proposal is not a sure thing. Not at a time when college tuition costs are rising, the number of college-age students is growing, and state universities can be increasingly choosy about whom they admit.
Some parents worried about their own children's academic futures could take a dim view of lawmakers voting what amounts to a subsidy -- in-state tuition doesn't cover the cost of a college education -- to undocumented immigrants. Some opponents fear it could serve as an incentive, drawing more illegal immigrants to the state.
In the Senate, with a week left in the session, the legislation is still waiting to be scheduled on the Appropriations Committee calendar. In the House, it has been referred to the floor for a vote but no date has been set. The past two years, champions of these students have introduced similar legislation, only to see it die at the end of the sessions.
''We're talking about kids who have lived in this community for years and years, and they have become part of the community and lived by the rules,'' said Sen. Frederica Wilson, a Miami Democrat, one of the Senate sponsors. ``Now we tell them that they're no longer one of us and all the work they did to get through school doesn't count.''
OTHER STATES
Nine states -- Oklahoma, Utah, Texas, New York, California, Illinois, Washington and Kansas -- have laws that allow undocumented resident students to pay the same tuition rate as other state high school graduates. Florida is the only large state with a sizable immigrant population that charges these students out-of-state tuition.
Both Wilson and House sponsor Juan Zapata, R-West Kendall, see this as an issue of economics: A better-educated work force means more money in the economy, contributed by people with higher-paying jobs.
The two note that students who would qualify under this law have lived here for years and the state has already invested in their education. Most arrived as young children with their parents.
Under current immigration law, young people who are brought illegally to the United States by their parents or whose families overstay tourist visas have few avenues to ever gain legal U.S. residency. Federal measures to offer students who go to college or join the military a chance to gain legal residency have been stalled in Congress for almost two years.
Anielle, 19, came to South Florida with her parents from Haiti when she was a child. She took lots of science courses at Boyd Anderson High School in Fort Lauderdale, hoping to be a doctor. But her education ended last year when she graduated, because her family can't afford to pay out-of-state tuition.
Last March she went with a group of students to Tallahassee to speak at a rally and to lobby legislators but was severely disappointed when the bill didn't pass.
''How can I make them understand what this does to young people like me?'' she asks. ``I love school. I want to be a pediatrician. I want to be able to go to school and take classes. I will have a much brighter future.''
MENIAL JOBS
Priya Sampath, policy director for the Human Services Coalition, a nonprofit organization that promotes civic participation and access to health and human services, notes that the current law means that bright immigrant students, who might otherwise become professionals, will have to settle for low-paying menial jobs. Florida taxpayers pay about 75 percent of the cost of educating in-state students, but advocates note that undocumented immigrants pay the same taxes to fund education that all residents do.
''The cost [to the community] is tremendous because of the loss in manpower that can eventually contribute to the community,'' Sampath says.
A report for the coalition entitled Opening the Door to Florida Immigrant College Students cites several studies to back the group's claims, including a RAND Institute analysis that found that Hispanics with a bachelor's degree will pay more that twice as much in taxes during their working life as those with only a high school diploma.
Despite his academic credentials, Matias isn't sure what he will do after graduation if the law doesn't pass. Maybe try to find work, he says, but anything available to a person without proper work documents would probably be menial and low-paying. He hopes that one day his legal status will be settled.
''If given the opportunity, I know I will do well,'' he says. ``I just need the opportunity.''
