A bill filed for the upcoming session of the Kentucky legislature would deny undocumented students admission to public postsecondary institutions. The issue of permitting undocumented students to enroll at public colleges and universities has resulted in national debate and in pointed conflicts in several states. Some states, such as California, have opted to allow admission and to permit qualifying undocumented students to pay in-state tuition. Recently, in Martinez v. Regents of the University of California, the California Supreme Court held that the state’s policy did not violate federal law. Other states prohibit undocumented students from receiving in-state tuition rates. The proposed legislation in Kentucky would follow the approach taken in South Carolina and ban enrollment by undocumented students. Federal legislation, the DREAM Act, to permit undocumented students a path to legal status through enrollment in postsecondary education or enlistment in the military has failed to gain traction in Congress for several years.
In Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a state could not deny a free public elementary or secondary education to undocumented students, but the decision did not apply to higher education. Thus, a sharp legal contrast exists for undocumented students when it comes to access to higher education in comparison to elementary and secondary educational opportunities. From my point of view, the proposed legislation in Kentucky represents ill-conceived policy. Immigration policy in the United States is certainly in need of revision, but denying a higher education to students who were brought to this country by their parents, often at a very young age, and who consider this nation their home makes little sense and comes across as less than humane. Rather than solving any problems, the proposed legislation would only exacerbate the types of challenges we face with our national immigration policy.