In-state tuition to all residents is an immeasurable benefit to Iowa

Ari Davis was brought to the United States when she was 3 years old. She remembers how hard her dad worked to provide for her and her brother. “At one point my dad was working overnight twelve-hour shifts – I only would see him when he would take me to school. There is a lot of sacrifices where parents have to work these awful hours in horrible conditions to make ends meet and kids have to get their own priorities in order.”

Hector Salamanca Arroyo, a graduate student at UNI, didn’t even know he was undocumented until he was a senior at Dowling High School. “I came here when I was 3. I grew up in a trailer park on the southside of Des Moines. We represent the resiliency of being American – we came not understanding the language or the culture, not even the weather. Through dedication and hard work we were able to move forward – I am a statement of this American spirit that we hold so dearly – if you work hard and are dedicated, the sky is the limit.”

Davis and Salamanca are but two examples of the many Iowa residents, formerly undocumented, who received their college education and are now not only tax-paying citizens, but who are working to improve life for all Iowans.

Iowa taxpayers are going to be paying to keep other young Iowa residents out of college if HF 2128 passes. The bill would require students to prove citizenship in order to pay in-state tuition. It also could deter them from their dreams of staying in Iowa to make it a better place.

The rationale behind in-state tuition is that residents and their families have been paying taxes, and therefore have already been paying into the public post-secondary education system. This is regardless of whether families are undocumented or natural born citizens. In fact, the financial and societal contributions of immigrants to Iowa are substantial. Rob Barron, a Community Activist in Des Moines noted that “People forget – the undocumented are paying payroll taxes, contributing to property taxes, and their payroll taxes support Medicare and Social Security trust funds that they don’t have access to.”

Even Robert Rector, a Senior Research Fellow for the conservative Heritage Foundation cites that college education is a benefit to society: “High skill immigrants with a college degree or more (including legal immigrants and illegal aliens) pay significantly more in taxes than they receive in benefits.”

Davis has not taken her father’s sacrifice for granted. She worked hard throughout her public school and college education. Davis now is a TA and Survivor Services Coordinator for the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault. “That opportunity would have been stripped from me –a college education would not have been affordable. I couldn’t even fill out FAFSA” she said, due to her immigration status.

Iowa’s economy is not the only potential casualty of these bills – the Iowa Nice reputation is also on the line here. Two other bills that target immigrants, HF 2112 and SF 108, will have an impact on good Samaritans and employers. At the hearing for HF 2112, which makes it a crime to hide an undocumented immigrant or encourage them to stay in the U.S., the committee chair asked “Is there someone who would like to speak in support of the legislation. Anyone?” An awkward silence followed. Church clergy, non-profits, and other public members all spoke against the bill due to it’s chilling effect on the services they provide.

Proposed legislation also has the potential to slow down business and employment of other, non-immigrant young people in an effort to stop the hiring of undocumented immigrants. Barron was in the subcommittee hearing for SF 108, companion bill, HSB 105 and “chambers of commerce and road manufacturers - everyone was coming up there and saying, you realize that e-Verify doesn’t work –it disproportionately flags young people because they are not in system and the minute it flags them it takes two weeks to resolve. Yet this is the kind of choice they appear to be making.”

Barron further contends, “These bills just make it harder to live in the state – they have one of two impacts – they drive people further underground which puts lives in danger – or they leave, which is negative for Iowa’s economy.” In a state where the population, and therefore tax base, would be shrinking without immigrants and refugees, we cannot afford to lose people who have big dreams for our state.

“To me, this legislation stems from the rhetoric that dates back to former Rep. Steve King – who had a huge presence on immigration,” Salamanca told me. “When I was able to talk to him in 2016 he gave the same line of ‘wanting them to do it the right way.’ But when you are a small child, you have little control over doing things ‘the right way.’”

This is why Davis encourages Iowans to learn more about immigrants. “There is so much talent that these kids have –they are being punished for the choices they didn’t make. I am not blaming their parents; they were doing what they have to do for their family. I was three years old, I had no decision in the process for being here,” she says. “Now I am here, I want to stay, I want to contribute in a way that doesn’t just benefit me, I want to make Iowa a better place.”

Davis said of this bill, “It would deprive Iowa of talent and skills – these kids are trying to be part of society and make themselves better and make the community better – this legislation won’t benefit anyone.”

Children of immigrants are protecting our freedom overseas, are helping their fellow Iowans, filling jobs no one else will fill, and bolstering our economy. Many of them desperately want to stay in this state, despite unwelcoming messages from bills like these.

If we are not willing yet to expand pathways to citizenship - which we should do- let’s at least give those who were raised here an opportunity to fulfill their dreams and better our state. If for no other reason than common sense.

Chris Espersen is a Gazette editorial fellow. chris.espersen@thegazette.com