During the 2003 and 2004 legislative term, Washington State passed a bill offering undocumented immigrants the ability to pay in-state tuition for their higher education. (http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/educ/undocumented-student-tuition-state-action.aspx) Ever since the bill was passed, advocates in Washington State are trying to approve a bill for undocumented students becoming eligible for financial aid. Research clearly suggests that providing undocumented immigrants with financial aid introduces many problems. The first problem is the idea of offering financial aid for illegal immigrants; this branches into some more issues. These issues include Washington State having limited funds and Washington residents having to give up their own financial aid for these undocumented students. Therefore, Washington State must take immediate action and spearhead the prevention of offering financial aid to undocumented students by addressing immigration reform as a whole.
Problem- Financial Aid for Illegal Immigrants
Providing financial aid for illegal immigrants is not a good idea. It will only create more conflicts for our country and state. First off, Washington is currently in huge debt. There is only a certain amount of funds available to distribute to WA residents for financial aid. According to Tri City Herald News: “The cuts, which began taking effect March 1, 2013, are expected to carve almost $83 million out of state-administered programs over the next seven months.” That will only add to the issue of Washington State having limited funds. (http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2013/03/08/2304118/sequestration-may-cost-washington.html#) Also according to Bob West, chairman of Grassroots of Yakima Valley, a tea party group that started as an organization to lobby for strict immigration enforcement in Olympia, “The state is in the hole by significant amounts of money. We're gonna give significant resources to people