Bills on aliens face tests in legislative committees

— Advocacy by special-interest groups is part of the legislative process in Arkansas, and the push-pull of opposing viewpoints in the 88th GeneralAssembly is amply illustrated in how two groups are reacting to a pair of bills aimed at preventing illegal aliens from sharing in certain benefits.

The groups have flooded lawmakers with calls and e-mails, with one side so far getting the better of the struggle.

A House committee refused to reconsider a bill Tuesday that would deny illegal aliens access to in-state tuition rates, which are cheaper than ratesfor out-of-state students. The motion to bring up the bill was in part a response to people who contacted them in support of the measure.

Another bill that would block illegal aliens’ access tostate benefits is scheduled for a hearing today in the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Advocacy group Secure Arkansas has sent multiple e-mails encouraging its supporters to contact lawmakers to urge them to vote for both bills. An e-mail sent Monday stated that such calls had jammed the House of Representatives switchboard.

The switchboard received a few calls on the tuition bill and about 40 on the benefits bill, House spokesman Amanda Story said. She said it had not been jammed.

Committee members said Tuesday that they have also received dozens of calls from those who oppose the measures, such as supporters of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

Elisabeth Burak, legislative affairs director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, said what lawmakers hear from constituents through phone or e-mail is just as important as filling a committee room.

“We’re hoping to get folks in the room,” she said. But “we’ve been pushing child advocates to contact their representatives.”

Secure Arkansas Chairman Jeannie Burlsworth said the number of people contacting committee members is encouraging.

“I think the campaign has been going very well. Absolutely, the citizens don’t want to see taxpayer money going to illegal aliens,” Burlsworth said.

A motion was made in the House Education Committee to bring up the bill aimed at denying illegal aliens in-state tuition rates. Five Republicans supported the motion, nine Democrats opposed it, so it failed.

Rep. Debra Hobbs, R-Rogers, said she made the motion in part because of the large number of e-mails the committee members have received.

“I think the committee is getting blamed for just letting it languish,” she said after the vote.

Hobbs said she knew that the bill didn’t have enough support to be considered when she brought it up.

House Bill 1008 by Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork, would grant in-state tuition rates only to students who are citizens of the United States or in the country legally. The bill would require illegal aliens to pay out-of-state tuition rates if they attend state-supported institutions of higher education. Out-of-state tuition rates can be three times as much as instate tuition.

The committee tabled the bill Jan. 27 to wait for information from the Department of Higher Education about how many illegal aliens attend Arkansas colleges. Once a bill is tabled it takes approval from a majority of the committee members who are present to take the bill off the table.

Four of the five committee members not present Tuesday were Republicans. The bill remains tabled in the committee and could come up again.

Harris said he plans to bring the bill up Thursday when the committee meets again.

According to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education there are 352 “undocumented” students attending Arkansas colleges or universities. Department spokesman Brandi Hinkle said the legal status of the people in that category is not clear and some may be legally in the country.

Hinkle said 37 “undocumented” high school students received in-state tuition when they enrolled at an Arkansascollege and three were federal or state prisoners.

Students do not have to verify their legal status to attend Arkansas colleges, but schools are required to ensure that scholarships and in-state tuition rates go only to U.S. citizens, though this does not necessarily mean Arkansas residents.

The one-page bill is similar to a federal law that says illegal aliens may not receive “any postsecondary education benefit” unless U.S. citizens, regardless of whether they live out of state, may get the same benefit.

At 10 a.m. today the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee is scheduled to hear HB1292 by Rep. Jon Hubbard, R-Jonesboro. It would limit the state-funded services offered to people in the country illegally to emergency care.

Federal law restricts public services available to illegal aliens to benefits such as education, immunizations and emergency medical treatment and prohibits states from denying those.

States can choose to provide some additional services with their own money. Arkansas is one of 11 that provide prenatal care regardless of the mothers’ legal status, according to the National Immigration Law Center. That policy was implemented when Mike Huckabee, a Republican, was governor.

State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Clark Hall, DMarvell, said he has received more than 200 calls and emails about the bill, which he said were split pretty evenly between those who support and oppose the bill. He said only three people who contacted him were from his district.

Rep. Johnnie Roebuck, DArkadelphia, said the contact she has received “cemented my feeling from the beginning that it’s a bad bill.”

Roebuck said she is receiving about 10 e-mails an hour, most of which are “form letters” from people who support restricting access to benefits.

She said those against the bill include the “faith community” and cities and counties who say they cannot afford the requirement that they check the residency documents of every person seeking services.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 02/23/2011

Upcoming Events