If passed, a recently proposed Missouri Senate bill could change the look of the student body at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

At the end of February in Jefferson City, a Missouri Senate committee hearing sat in and discussed the topic of in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants in the state.

Surprisingly, no one voiced opposition to this bill. The bill requires the students to graduate from high school, live with a parent or guardian while attending high school and go to a Missouri high school for at least two years. They also must file an affidavit with their college or university promising they will apply for permanent U.S. residency when the opportunity becomes available.

This bill would open up doors for immigrants looking to higher their education across Missouri. Dr. Farida Jalazai, professor of political science at UM-St. Louis, said that if this program was well advertised in lower levels of education and by community groups, it could have small but positive gains.

“I would imagine it would help a number of students afford UMSL tuition and result in a gain in enrollment, though I don’t want to overstate this since the size population it affects is not totally clear to me,” Jalazai said. “And I would wonder if some groups would take advantage of it because they would fear negative repercussions against their family.”

Among UM-St. Louis students, reaction to this bill ranges from hope to unknown predictions about what it implies.

“I’m happy that Missouri decided to act on this issue; there are a lot of kids in America going without a proper education, and now they might have a chance to receive equal education rights,” Aivy Ton, graduate, education, said.

The passage of this bill could mean great opportunities for undocumented immigrant children who have little to no opportunity to pursue a college education. However, the bill has not yet been passed or signed by the governor. If the legislature passes the bill and the governor signs it, the new funding amounts would go into effect for the 2014-2015 school years. However, Jalazai is skeptical that it will make it that far.

“At this point, the question is whether it will even come to vote yet. Senator Justus, the sponsor, is not very confident it will go to a vote and if it does, it may not pass because of anti-immigrant sentiments. She proposed this bill last year as well,” Jalazai said.

Even without much opposition to the bill in Jefferson City, the public sentiment toward the bill is not so silent.

“I don’t understand why we would be spending money paying tuition for illegal aliens when there are so many problems facing this country,” Ebony Washington, sophomore, criminology, said.

Due to economic problems in the country, the swaying of the public’s opinion toward the passing of this bill nationwide might be slow, but could increase in speed in the near future.

Glen Hahn Cope, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at UM-St. Louis, said the bill addresses the educational needs of illegal immigrant individuals who could become productive citizens after graduation when they are eligible for citizenship.

“A number of other states are considering similar bills,” Cope said. “State legislatures tend to respond to the political and economic needs of their states. They may observe what is done in other states, but don’t necessarily follow others.”

States that have already passed similar bills include Kansas, Illinois and Nebraska.