Last year the state budget process was extremely contentious throughout Wisconsin. Lost on many amid the furor over collective bargaining, cuts to K-12 education, and reduced aid to our communities was the repeal of in-state tuition for undocumented students.
When in-state tuition for certain undocumented immigrants was first passed, many students, parents, guidance counselors, teachers, and community leaders hoped it would lead to a brighter future for those affected, since college would now be financially feasible for those students.
With the stroke of a pen, this optimism was dampened. Budgets deal with numbers, but these decisions have an impact on real people’s lives. This change affects the rest of the state’s residents as well. Wisconsin has invested in these children through K-12 education. Discontinuing their educational progress will only serve to squelch the return on that investment.
