In 2002, the Utah State Legislature agreed to charge in-state tuition to the children of some illegal immigrants. Utah was one of four states that had the rule, and Congress was considering it under the Dream Act.

Now, a Utah lawmaker is seeking to undo that and raise the cost of education for the immigrants' children.

Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R-North Ogden, claims the tuition policy violates federal law by giving illegal immigrants an educational benefit that is not available to all U.S. citizens. A group of out-of-state students at the University of Utah are threatening to sue the state because they are charged non-resident rates while illegal immigrants in Utah pay the lower in-state rate.

House Bill 7 awaits a vote in the full House of Representatives. The House should scrap the bill as an unjust act against innocent people.

Allowing illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition was not the idea of a wild-eyed liberal. The original legislation was sponsored by Rep. David Ure, R-Kamas, a man with impeccable conservative credentials. Ure argued at the time it was a matter of fairness. He said there were some Utahns who could not go to college because they happened to be the children of illegal immigrants. In some cases, the children were unaware of their parents' immigration status.

Our legal system does not believe in punishing children for the crimes of their fathers or mothers. Many of the students affected by the law were brought into the country as small children or infants who had no say in whether they wanted to make the trip. But they ended up being residents of Utah.

If not for their parents' status as illegal immigrants, these children would be entitled to in-state tuition. They've gone through Utah's public education system, worked at Utah jobs and paid Utah taxes.

The tuition law is hardly a perk that would encourage more illegal immigrants to come to Utah. The students seeking to take advantage of it must go to school in Utah for three years, graduate from a Utah high school and be actively working toward U.S. citizenship.

Anyone who thinks becoming a U.S citizen is easy is not an immigrant. Aside from having five years' residency, potential U.S. citizens must show good character, submit to being photographed, fingerprinted and interviewed, as well as take a test on the English language and U.S. civics. The civics test, those who have taken it say, would challenge many native-born Americans' knowledge of U.S. history, of how their government works and of what's contained in the Constitution.

To get a taste of what the test is like, go to http://uscis.gov/graphics/exec/natz/natztest.asp and try some sample questions. It's no freebie, as H.B. 7's proponents claim.

The bars have been plenty high enough to limit the number of people who actually take advantage of the discounted tuition rule. In the 2004-05 school year, only 169 children of immigrants applied for in-state tuition, hardly the flood of illegal immigrants that critics suggest.

The argument that the immigrant children are getting a benefit that U.S. citizens are not eligible for is spurious. Utah does not have to give in-state tuition to people who live in Wyoming, California or New York. The immigrants who are applying for this are Utah residents.

The law also helps Utah by allowing a segment of its population to break the poverty cycle and gain higher-paying jobs. People with education are less likely to require welfare services or go to prison.

Utah should not abandon its current policy. It should not punish the innocent.

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What do you think?

Should Utah continue to offer in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants? Send your comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 344-2942. Please leave your name, hometown and phone number with your comments. E-mail comments should not exceed 100 words; voice-mail comments should be no longer than 30 seconds. Anonymous and unverifiable responses will not be published.

The Daily Herald will publish comments on Feb. 19.