As of Feb. 23, Kansas Senate Bill 254 is being debated within a committee to resolve any differences between the House and Senate’s versions of the bill. According to Legiscan, a legislative tracking site, SB 254 is an attempt to prohibit “aliens” who are unlawfully present in the United States from receiving any state or local public benefit in accordance with applicable federal law.

Throughout Kansas, undocumented immigrants seek financial aid and benefits, such as in-state college tuition eligibility. Many of these are college students aiming to pay in-state tuition for their education.

Senior Sorcha Keating, an immigrant from Bristol, England, said she has had a positive experience living in the United States. Keating said she recognizes that she has an advantage, being a documented immigrant, when paying college tuition.

“A very significant negative impact of this bill will be thousands of immigrants across Kansas losing the opportunity to go to college because it will be simply too expensive,” Keating said.

European history teacher and an immigrant from Germany, Arne Scholz, said that undocumented immigrants should be able to receive benefits. He said that if you bestow any help to society, it should be the basis for acquiring financial aid.

According to KU admissions, out-of-state tuition can be $40,468 – $51,736 annually. However, according to the American Immigration Council, the immigrants, who pay this tuition, account for 10.2 percent of entrepreneurs, 11.8 percent of STEM workers and 20.3 percent of the construction workforce in the state.

Keating said that this bill’s passing would not improve the state as a whole. Instead, she said that it would deter immigrants from pursuing education, as being forced to pay out-of-state tuition can be costly.

“This will definitely discourage thousands of immigrants from pursuing higher education because they will not be able to afford the enormous price tag of out-of-state tuition,” Keating said.

However, freshman Jacob Dirk, who was born and raised in the United States, said that this bill might improve Kansas’s fund distributions. Dirk said that the state could instead spend money on citizens who are documented and decrease the undocumented immigrant presence.

“This bill will lower the amount of undocumented immigrants inside Kansas,” Dirk said. “It will also help with sending money to people who are American citizens and not add people who have not gone through the system to become documented.”

Opposing the bill, Keating said that its timing is also important. She said that right now, Kansas’s legislators should not be trying to create division, but instead unity.

“Limiting the opportunities of immigrants will not bring more opportunities to others,” Keating said. “In a time where fear is widespread in our community, lawmakers should be working to unite us rather than further divide us.”