Marking the end of a decade-long effort to provide in-state tuition rates to Colorado college students in the U.S. illegally, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed Senate Bill 33, also known as the ASSET bill, into law on Monday.

“Now you have to do the work,” Hickenlooper told the many students among the hundreds of people attending the event at Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Student Success Center.

Also in attendance were numerous members, past and present, of the state legislature, including the bill’s co-sponsors, Sens. Michael Johnston D-Denver, and Angela Giron, D-Pueblo, and Reps. Crisanta Duran and Angela Williams, both Denver Democrats. There were also representatives from schools throughout the state, including Denver Public Schools superintendent Tom Boasberg.

When Johnston took the stage, he asked the crowd for a moment, taking out his cellphone and snapping a picture of the audience.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to take that photo,” he said.

Johnston said he’s been working for access for all students since his days as a high school principal in Thornton, when a student approached him at the conclusion of the school year, distraught because his status wouldn’t allow him to attend college in state.

“He asked me, ‘Why did you make me do all this? This diploma isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,’ ” Johnston said. “Well, today in Colorado, the doors are open, and the dream is alive.”

Marco Dorado, a junior finance major at the University of Colorado Boulder, said he had to begin his collegiate career at New Mexico Highlands instead of in Colorado because he “was lacking those ever-important nine digits” — a Social Security number.

“Going to college shouldn’t be contingent on good fortune but rather the ability to succeed,” he said. “Now everyone can have that opportunity.”

To qualify for the in-state tuition, students must attend a Colorado high school for three years. They also must graduate from a Colorado high school or obtain a general education diploma, and must declare their intention to pursue legal immigration status. The schools do not have to verify the immigration status of the students.

Over the past 10 years, the ASSET bill failed to pass out of the legislature six times, including last year. After that last attempt, Metro State created a special tuition rate for immigrants in the state unlawfully, a move that led Colorado Attorney General John Suthers to issue an opinion that the move was illegal.

But proponents said the ASSET bill would benefit Colorado, with the students eventually contributing to the state’s economy.

Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292, acotton@denverpost.com or twitter.com/anthonycottondp