UC regents consider tuition break for some illegal immigrants By SIMON AVERY Associated Press Writer Published 12:15 p.m. PST Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002 LOS ANGELES (AP) - Illegal immigrants and other students who qualify could get a break in University of California tuition under a proposal to let them pay the same amount as California residents. The Board of Regents was to consider the proposal at its Thursday meeting at UCLA. If approved, it would allow students who graduated from a California high school after three years of attendance to pay in-state tuition. Illegal immigrants would also have to file for legalized status to qualify. Gov. Gray Davis and the Legislature approved a bill last year implementing the plan at California State University and community college campuses. The regents are considering whether that bill goes against a federal rule forbidding states from offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants unless the same fees apply to U.S. citizens in any state. During a public comment session, Mark Silverman, a lawyer with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in Sacramento, urged regents to adopt the policy. "Our future is literally slipping away as we wait," he said, asserting the country's economy relies heavily on immigrant workers. America Yareli Hernandez, an 18-year-old student at Fresno State, told regents she wants to transfer to a UC campus but can't afford the expensive tuition. She said her parents brought her to California from Mexico when she was three months old. Since family members are still classified as temporary residents, she would have to pay out-of-state fees at UC. "I feel I should have equal opportunity because I have been here all my life," she said outside the meeting. "It's not my fault. I didn't make a conscious effort to arrive illegally." UC President Richard C. Atkinson supports the change as a way to align UC policies with those of other state systems, said Brad Hayward, a UC spokesman. On Wednesday, 300 students staged a boisterous demonstration in favor of the move. Waving signs reading "Knowledge not discrimination" and "Education is a human right," they rallied for an hour outside the building where the regents met on the first day of their two-day session. Also on Thursday, the board was expected to consider an environmental report and master development plan for the new UC Merced campus after committees approved the documents on Wednesday. Groundbreaking is scheduled for May for the first three academic buildings, as the campus readies to receive its first 1,000 students in fall 2004. The cost of that first phase of construction would be $225 million. UC officials said building the system's 10th campus - its first since the 1960s - has only begun and could take decades to complete. "This is really just an early step in many steps that will have to be taken," Atkinson said. On Wednesday, the board took a close look at the impact of the tight state budget on the UC system. Officials said it will likely limit raises for faculty and staff members and could lead to tuition increases to fund more competitive salaries. The regents took no action but directed staff to press legislators to allocate as much funding as possible while considering the budget proposed by Davis.