Virginia to Consider Banning Illegal Immigrants from Public Colleges

RICHMOND, Va. —Virginia legislators will consider whether to bar illegal immigrants from enrolling in state's public colleges and universities.

Del. Christopher Peace's bill would amend state law to explicitly prohibit people who are in the United States illegally from being admitted to Virginia's public two-year or four-year institutions.

Several previous attempts to pass similar legislation in Virginia haven't succeeded.

Federal law prohibits such people from paying in-state tuition at colleges and universities, but they can still pursue a public college education. Virginia's public universities currently have the discretion to decide whether to admit illegal aliens as long as they charge out-of-state tuition.

South Carolina bars undocumented students from enrolling in public colleges, as have some Georgia institutions, and Alabama's two-year colleges.