California is giving illegal immigrant students state-funded college aid while citizen families go deep into debt.
The state allows undocumented students to receive Cal Grants, Dream Loans, community college fee waivers, and in-state tuition rates. As of 2023, roughly 102,000 illegal immigrants were enrolled in California colleges and universities, reportedly the highest count in the nation. Annual college costs for California families can easily top $45,000.
Assembly Bill 540, signed in 2001, first extended in-state tuition rates to qualifying undocumented students. A decade later, the California Dream Act opened the door to state financial aid programs for those same students. Applicants must still meet income, academic, and enrollment requirements. Undocumented students remain ineligible for federal aid through the FAFSA but can apply for state and institutional assistance through the California Dream Act Application.
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As originally reported, two California college students shared what that system has cost their own families.
Ava Schmidt, a 21-year-old USC senior and political science major from the Bay Area, received just $2,000 in financial aid last year. USC tuition now exceeds $75,000 annually. Her father pulled from his retirement savings and took out loans to cover the gap. Schmidt works an off-campus job to pay rent and groceries. She also applied for a work-study position but never received one.
Schmidt described the contrast between her situation and the state programs available to undocumented students as “ridiculous.” She told the California Post: “I felt like I did all the work to earn my spot in this school. And yet I’m the one that’s not getting aid, and undocumented illegal aliens are instead getting that money.
Cooper Vincik, also 21, expects to graduate from Chapman University in Orange carrying tens of thousands of dollars in student debt. The aspiring screenwriter said he qualified for little financial assistance while watching undocumented classmates receive aid. He acknowledged the issue is personal. One of his closest childhood friends had parents who entered the country illegally.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton has come out against California’s policy of extending college benefits to illegal immigrants. He has proposed cutting that assistance and redirecting the money toward state residents as part of a broader effort to reduce spending and taxes.
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s office pushed back. A spokesperson said undocumented students do not receive preferential treatment based on immigration status alone and must satisfy the same eligibility criteria as other applicants.
That explanation offered little comfort to Schmidt’s family. Her father dipped into retirement funds and borrowed money to keep her enrolled at a school she earned admission to on her own merits. For her, and for Vincik, the arithmetic is straightforward. Californians are taking on debt while the state writes checks for students who entered the country illegally.
