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(AP and KSL News) Illegal immigrants who pay in-state tuition at Utah's public colleges would be prohibited from obtaining jobs under a bill approved by a House committee.
House Bill 208 would require students to file an affidavit with their college saying they haven't been employed or earned income in the United States in the year they're seeking the reduced tuition rate.
Since 2002, children of illegal immigrants have been able to receive in-state tuition if they attended a state high school for at least three years.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Richard Greenwood, R-Roy, says his bill would keep illegal immigrants who are students from breaking the law by working illegally in the U.S. using fraudulent documents.
Opponents say it is discriminatory.
University of Utah student Asalei Matelau said, "I'm fighting on behalf of my brothers and sisters that I grew up with since elementary. There's families right now that their older brothers don't have documentation, but their little sisters have documentation.
"It's just breaking apart families. It's breaking apart communities. It's creating a higher class and lower class; those who can seek higher education and those who cannot. And in that sense it's segregation. It's segregation, right? It's segregation of our higher education system."
The bill was approved in a House committee 8-to-1 on Wednesday. It will now be debated on the House floor.
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