AUSTIN, Texas -- Repealing in-state tuition for so-called immigrant Dreamers would cost the state $400 million a year.
That's according to New American Economy, a research and advocacy organization co-founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Fox News creator, Rupert Murdoch.
The report comes as two Republican state lawmakers attempt to kill current law that allows non-citizens to pay in-state tuition rates at public schools if they meet certain requirements.
The new research is also being released with the launch of Texans for Economic Growth, a coalition of more than 65 businesses and associations that have signed onto a Texas Compact on Immigration. It calls for state lawmakers to preserve the state’s in-state tuition policy and urges Congress to back immigration reform that would “protect our national borders through new enforcement technology while also creating a pathway to legal status or citizenship for the roughly 1.8 million undocumented immigrants in the state who contribute $1 billion in state and local taxes.”
Click the video link above to watch our interview with Kate Brick, the director of state and local initiatives for New American Economy.