• OCGA 20-3-66  – Determination of in-state resident status of students for tuition or fees

Plea for passage of legislation inaccurate

In an introduction to a recent guest column aimed at pending state higher education legislation on the AJC’S “Get Schooled” blog AJC columnist Maureen Downey leads readers to believe that refugees cannot access instate tuition in Georgia’s public colleges.

In the column (“Afghan women refugees like me want a future in Georgia”) writer Husnia Jamal, apparently a refugee, also laments “But I, like so many other displaced people living in Georgia, found out that I could not access in-state tuition here — no matter how long I live, work, or pay state taxes — because of my immigration status.” As she is migrating to Georgia from Afghanistan, Jamal could also be an ‘SIV’ (Special Visa Immigrant).

A quick look at the Board of Regents webpage on instate tuition eligibility illustrates the truth: ”…lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, or other eligible noncitizens may be extended the same consideration as citizens of the United States in determining whether they qualify for in-state classification.” This includes SIV recipients.

Correction requested.

D.A. KING

PRESIDENT, THE DUSTIN INMAN SOCIETY

MARIETTA, GA. 30066

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Reply, soon after (thirteen minutes) I emailed my letter for consideration to be published:

Hello D.A.,

This is the passage in full from the reference you cite:

A non-citizen student shall not be classified as in-state for tuition purposes unless the student is legally in this state and there is evidence to warrant consideration of in-state classification as determined by the Board of Regents. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, or other eligible noncitizens as defined by federal Title IV regulations may be extended the same consideration as citizens of the United States in determining whether they qualify for in-state classification.

As you know from your advocacy, this has long been an issue with public colleges in Georgia. It’s affected straight-A students who arrived here as minors that I know of personally, and who could not pursue a college education in Georgia.

If nothing else, IMHO, the word “may” above (as opposed to say “shall”) leaves ample room for interpretation, good, bad or indifferent, as to who’s eligible for in-state tuition, especially when combined with how the “evidence” mentioned of above is assessed.

So, to my mind, no correction’s warranted to the Op-Ed.

Thanks for continuing to read the AJC.

All best,

Andre Jackson

Opinion Editor

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Andre.Jackson@ajc.com

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Washington Times

Most migrants still caught and released into U.S. after Title 42

Mayorkas’ promise of ‘consequences’ hasn’t materialize

By Stephen Dinan – The Washington Times – Thursday, May 18, 2023

Most illegal immigrants at the border are still being caught and released after the end of Title 42, according to numbers obtained by The Washington Times that challenge Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ promises of “consequences.”

The overall number of people jumping the border is down to just a quarter of what it was at the beginning of last week, when 10,000 people a day were surging across the boundary with Mexico.

Arrivals at the border are still granted quick release in most cases, the CBP figures show.

In the five days after Title 42 ended on May 11, nearly 7 out of 10 unauthorized migrants processed by Customs and Border Protection were released, either on parole or with an immigration court summons known as a notice to appear.

That marked a slight increase from the days just before May 11.

“The vast majority of aliens are still being released into the United States, and the Biden administrationis struggling to handle the flow. Even though it’s smaller, they’re still struggling to handle it,” said Andrew “Art” Arthur, a former immigration judge and now a legal fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies.