Congratulations to North Carolina for finally figuring out what we already knew: colleges profit from the admission of undocumented students.

The state board of North Carolina Community Colleges banned undocumented students last August and commissioned a study while it reviewed the matter.

We correctly predicted last summer:

There is a look at undocumented students in North Carolina by the numbers that shows how admitting undocumented students is a net-benefit, a profit-making opportunity for higher education in North Carolina:

*27 – UNC system students who are undocumented, out of 200,000

*340 – Community college students who are undocumented, out of 271,000

*$5,300 – Annual cost of educating a full-time student at a community college

*$7,465 – Out-of-state tuition illegal immigrants pay at community college

Since undocumented students make up less than one-tenth of one percent of students in the North Carolina system and do not burden taxpayers because they are not eligible for financial aid or grants, it would be ludicrous not to educate them. Moreover, since they have to pay ‘out of state’ tuition, it more than covers the cost of their enrollment. There can be no justification for denying higher education to students–regardless of immigration status–if they merit those spots under status quo federal and state law.

However, choosing not to follow the common sense assessment, North Carolina administered a $75K study led by John B. Lee and Associates to analyze the costs of admitting students to colleges.

The consulting firm found that the state of North Carolina makes a net $1650 per undocumented student that it admits. But the cost of verifying immigration status for each student would cost each college $9000 per year.

In this economy of tight budget constraints, allowing undocumented students into colleges saves more taxpayer money. Even the Colorado in-state tuition equity bill (SB-170) has a positive fiscal note of in tuition payments between $165,300 and $661,200 per year.

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