By Kelly Heyboer | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

It's getting easier to go to college in New Jersey if you're an immigrant living in the country illegally.

Five years ago, New Jersey changed the law to allow unauthorized immigrants to attend New Jersey's public colleges at in-state tuition rates.

This week, Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to open the door to college a little wider by signing a new law that will also make unauthorized immigrants eligible for state financial aid to pay for tuition.

How many students will be affected? It's unclear. The state does not keep track of the total number of unauthorized immigrants attending college in New Jersey.

However, here's what the state's public four-year colleges said when asked how many students they have enrolled who are currently taking advantage of the Tuition Equality Act -- the law that allows unauthorized immigrants to pay in-state tuition.

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(Star-Ledger file photo)

9) Thomas Edison State University

Location: Based in Trenton; offers online courses for adult students

Unauthorized immigrant students: 0

Total student body: 17,200

In-state tuition: $7,300

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8) Ramapo College

Location: Mahwah

Unauthorized immigrant students: 14

Total student body: 6,008

In-state tuition: $14,080

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7) The College of New Jersey

Location: Ewing

Unauthorized immigrant students: 16

Total student body: 7,400

In-state tuition: $16,148

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6) Stockton University

Location: Galloway

Unauthorized immigrant students: 34

Total student body: 9,216

In-state tuition: $13,403

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5) New Jersey Institute of Technology

Location: Newark

Unauthorized immigrant students: 36

Total student body: 11,446

In-state tuition: $16,898

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4) New Jersey City University

Location: Jersey City

Unauthorized immigrant students: 45

Total student body: 8,500

In-state tuition: $11,760

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3) Montclair State University

Location: Montclair

Unauthorized immigrant students: 54

Total student body: 21,031

In-state tuition: $12,455

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2) Kean University

Location: Union Township

Unauthorized immigrant students: 89

Total student body: 14,842

In-state tuition: $12,107

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1) Rutgers University

Location: New Brunswick-Piscataway, Newark and Camden

Unauthorized immigrant students: 471

Total student body: 69,198

In-state tuition: $14,638 (average for New Brunswick campus)

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Which public colleges are missing from the list?

Rowan University

The 18,500-student public university based in Glassboro does not ask students if they are U.S. citizens, a spokesman said.

"We don't ask for proof of citizenship. When applying, students provide a high school transcript and tell us where they live. Beyond that, we ask them to certify that they are residents through a simple yes/no question," said Joe Cardona, a Rowan spokesman.

William Paterson University

The 11,000-student public university in Wayne declined to say how many unauthorized students are enrolled.

"William Paterson University charges in-state tuition to DACA students in accordance with state law. The university chooses not to disclose the number of DACA students on its campus," said Mary Beth Zeman, a university spokeswoman.

Many of New Jersey's private four-year colleges also enroll unauthorized immigrants, but they are not required to track or release their enrollment numbers.

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Where did the numbers come from?

The state does not keep a tally of the number of immigrants living in the country illegally enrolled at New Jersey colleges. However, the state Legislature recently asked all of the state's four-year public colleges how many students were taking advantage of the Tuition Equality Act.

Most of the state's public, four-year colleges filed written responses to the state Legislature to help with an analysis of the governor's proposed budget. The responses included a count of unauthorized immigrants currently enrolled.

Kean University did not file a response to the state Legislature's question, but a university spokeswoman provided the number of unauthorized immigrants on campus to NJ Advance Media.

The tuition figures for each school listed above includes only annual in-state tuition and fees for undergraduates. Room, board, books and other costs are not included.

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Is enrollment rising?

The number of unauthorized immigrants attending New Jersey's four-year, public colleges has more than doubled in the last four years.

At least 335 students living in the country illegally were enrolled at the state's public colleges in the fall of 2014, according to a 2015 study by New Jersey Policy Perspective, a left-leaning think tank based in Trenton.

That number has doubled to at least 758 students, according to the 2018 data from the schools.

It is unclear if the introduction of state financial aid for unauthorized immigrants will increase enrollment.

The state's Office of Legislative Services said it would be impossible to determine exactly how many unauthorized immigrants would apply for and qualify for state financial aid. But, the office estimated it would cost about $4.47 million in additional taxpayer money to cover financial aid awards for unauthorized immigrant students for about 600 students for one year.

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More on illegal immigration in New Jersey

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.