Maryland House Panel Approves Immigrant Tuition Bill, Adds Selective Service Requirement

Washington Post: House lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday to grant in-state tuition rates at Maryland colleges to illegal immigrants if they complete two years at a community college and can show their parents paid state taxes for the three years before they enrolled. The House Ways and Means Committee added a requirement that immigrants sign up for the Selective Service to receive the reduced tuition. It also changed the definition of an immigrant receiving the reduced tuition rate to count as a part of a school’s out-of-state student pool, so in-state slots for Maryland residents are unaffected. Delegate Jay Walker, D-Prince George’s, recounted visiting Thomas Jefferson’s estate, Monticello, while trying to decide whether he would support the tuition proposal. He told lawmakers that Jefferson supported education for everyone, even his slaves.