Since the college admissions scandal broke last month, there’s been a lot of discussion around the topic of unfair admission policies at colleges across America. But what about one of the most disturbing trends in colleges? What about the 17 states that are giving illegal aliens free tuition, while making students who are American citizens pay the full rate of tuition?

In New York, lawmakers have taken it a step further. Two days ago, they voted down a bill that would have given kids whose parents died in the line of duty, while serving in our military the opportunity to attend college without paying tuition. Their vote took place only one week after they voted to give illegal aliens free tuition.

Syracuse.com reports – New York lawmakers on Tuesday refused to advance a bill that would have provided free college tuition to the families of military personnel from the state who were killed in the line of duty.

The Assembly’s Higher Education Committee voted 15 to 11 to hold the bipartisan bill, effectively ending its chances of making it to a floor vote this session.

The move comes a week after lawmakers passed a $175 billion state budget that included $27 million to provide college tuition aid for undocumented immigrants.

Some Central New York lawmakers said it was outrageous to block a bill that would likely cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to help children of military members who died for their county.



“It’s disgraceful,” said Assemblyman Gary Finch, R-Springport. “Soldiers who lay down their lives and make the ultimate sacrifice represent the best of us. The children they love so dearly deserve access to the opportunity and promise that is the hallmark of this country. I can’t imagine what’s in your heart when you vote ‘no’ on a bill like this.”

Four Democrats, including Assemblyman Al Stirpe, D-Cicero, split with their party and voted against holding the bill in committee.

Assemblyman Will Barclay, R-Pulaski, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said in an interview after the vote that he sensed Democrats simply didn’t want to pass the bill because it was authored by a Republican, Steve Hawley, R-Batavia.

According to Value Colleges – 17 states have passed legislation that allows immigrant students at any stage in the process towards citizenship to receive in-state college tuition status, provided that they meet certain criteria. These states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington State.

To take advantage of these programs a non-citizen student must apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an immigration policy founded by the Obama administration in June of 2012. Other conditions of receiving in-state status include attending two or more years of high school in that state, coming from a low-income family (the exact annual income varies by state) and ensuring that the student will apply for U.S. citizenship as soon as possible. For other states, immigrants will need an F-1 student visa to attend college in the U.S.