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Leveling The Field

Zach Armstrong | February 24, 2020

Topics: college, education, General Assembly, higher education, house of delegates, in state tuition, legislation, local politics, politics, richmond va, RVA, Senate, senate bill 935, undocumented immigrants, Virginia politics

Both houses of the Virginia General Assembly have now passed bills allowing undocumented immigrants in Virginia to pay in-state tuition, making college a more realistic option for the Commonwealth’s undocumented students.

The prospect of receiving in-state-tuition rates in college never seemed real for T.C. Williams High School senior Mikeala, an undocumented immigrant who came to the U.S. from Bolivia when she was 7. 

“I prepared for the worst,” said Mikeala. “The only two ways I could have gone to college were to apply for scholarships — which are usually limited to students who are permanent residents — or apply only to private universities, but those schools tend to be more selective.”

Thanks to new legislation, undocumented students in Virginia may finally be able to afford to attend college in the Commonwealth. 

The senate passed Senate Bill 935 on Tuesday by a narrow margin of 21-19, which would allow undocumented immigrants to become eligible for in-state tuition rates at public universities. The House of Delegates passed identical legislation on Tuesday by a vote of 56-44.

Under the legislation, students are eligible for in-state tuition rates regardless of their immigration status. They’ll receive the rates if they attended high school for at least two years in Virginia, and either graduated from high school or passed a high school equivalency exam.

“[Virginia] has high level immigration from across the world, and a lot of those students are motivated to succeed because the country they came from didn’t give them the same opportunities,” said Del. Mark Keam, D-Vienna. 

According to the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan immigration think tank, Virginia has an estimated undocumented population of 269,000 people. An estimated 25,000 undocumented Virginia residents ages 3 to 17 are enrolled in school, but just 48,000 undocumented residents have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher. 

Virginia is commonly recognized as having a quality education system. The U.S. News and World Report ranked the Commonwealth #8 for K-12 schools and #14 for higher education. Some of Virginia’s top universities include Washington and Lee University, the University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary, and Virginia Commonwealth University as the #1 public arts school in the country.

“If your parents are struggling because they’ve never had opportunities, there’s a much bigger incentive to go and work hard to go to college,” said Keam. “I think that adds tremendously to the quality of our schools.” 

Many Republican legislators voted against the bill, expressing concern that it unfairly favors undocumented students over other out-of-state students — and may present issues with the Commonwealth’s education budget. 

“We’ve made a determination to not give this to West Virginians or North Carolinans, but this bill provides it for someone here illegally,” said Sen. Stephen Newman, R-Forest. “I hope that they would go through the visa program to get their education, and become a contributing member to our economy.” 

Proponents of the legislation contend that not only will it benefit the state’s education budget, but also the local economy in the long run.  

“Maybe we’re losing revenue by not investing in them,” said Keam. “Immigrants already pay taxes, but if these students succeed with an education, they’ll end up staying in Virginia and pay more in state taxes long-term.” 

Other advocates view the legislation as a human rights matter: that every student should be given equal opportunity in life, despite their circumstances.

“It’s important we don’t view [undocumented immigrants] as one-sided for their economic contributions,” said Mikeala. “They are humans trying to achieve their dreams, and they deserve the same opportunities as others.” 

Gov. Northam has previosly voiced support for legislation in favor of the undocumented community. Northam vetoed Republican-backed bills in 2019 that would have banned sanctuary city policies. 

The General Assembly has advanced similar legislation this session, including giving undocumented immigrants driver’s licenses. Making college more affordable, along with an increase in education spending, is also part of Northam’s Virginia 2020 Plan.

“This highlights that the federal government has failed on immigration,” said Newman. “States are dealing with the broken federal government, and I hope these bills will push them to make better immigration laws.” 

Republican Candidate Corey Stewart Tweets He’s Going to Kick Tim Kaine’s Teeth In

David Streever | June 14, 2018

Topics: Commonwealth, Corey Stewart, Democrat, election, Mid-Terms, Republican, Senate, Tim Kaine, virginia

Fresh off a disastrous appearance on CNN, GOP Senate candidate Corey Stewart took to Twitter to claim his primary win as a mandate to “kick @timkaine’s teeth in.”

Virginians wanted someone to kick @timkaine's teeth in.

I'm honored to have been selected for such a high honor. #VAsen #VAPolitics#FireKaine#TakeBackVA

— Corey Stewart (@CoreyStewartVA) June 14, 2018

Stewart is the current chair of the Prince William Board of Supervisors, but has struggled to win office outside of his county. He notably lost the Republican primary for the office of Governor to Ed Gillespie in 2017 by a slim margin, which Gillespie supporters ascribed to Stewart’s caustic, aggressive tone. After his narrow victory in the Tuesday primary over Nick Freitas, Stewart seems to have doubled-down on the often violent rhetoric he employs on the campaign trail.

On a CNN appearance last night with Chris Cuomo, the candidate struggled to answer questions about his support for and from anti-semites and white supremacists. In 2017, he received an endorsement from Paul Nehlen, an anti-semite who Stewart described as “one of my personal heroes.” Although he tried to deflect when Cuomo asked him about Nehlen and other white supremacist supporters, Stewart eventually said, “I take support from whoever wants to give it to me. That doesn’t mean I support their views.”

After his failed GOP primary run for Governor last year, Stewart was singled out for praise by Steve Bannon, a one-time President Donald Trump advisor who associates with white supremacists under the title the “alt-right.” Bannon described Stewart as the “titular head of the Trump movement” in an interview with the Washington Post, where he maintained Stewart would have prevailed over Northam, and predicted he’d bring national attention to the race for Kaine’s Senate seat.

Northam had a different take on his victory that invoked both Michelle Obama’s “We go high” mantra and “The Virginia Way,” the idea that elections in the Commonwealth are won by candidates who maintain a positive image and platform. While Bannon’s prediction about national attention has come true, ultimately, it will be up to Virginia voters to decide between two candidates who for many exemplify opposite ends of the spectrum: Tim Kaine for Democrats and “The Virginia Way,” and Corey Stewart as a bellicose, Trumpian member of the GOP.

Photo from Corey Stewart FB

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