Buono touts tuition equality for undocumented students, calls on Christie to help

By Brent Johnson/The Star-Ledger

NEW BRUNSWICK — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono today called for undocumented students living in New Jersey to be allowed to pay in-state tuition to the state’s public colleges — and pressed her opponent, Gov. Chris Christie, to also support such a move.

Currently, the children of undocumented immigrants must pay out-of-state tuition to attend public colleges and universities in New Jersey even if they grew up here. A bill (A4225) offering in-state tuition to those who attended high school in New Jersey for three years or more made inroads in the state Assembly earlier this year but stalled.

Speaking at a news conference at Rutgers University in New Brunswick this morning, Buono said the issue forces many bright students to skip college because they cannot afford the higher out-of-state tuition.

“The American Dream — isn’t that what its all about?” Buono, a state senator from Middlesex County, said. “But today, in Chris Christie’s New Jersey, there are too many young people who cannot afford to pursue that dream.”

Buono stood next to a group of students who say they must pay more to go to school here because they are undocumented.

At Rutgers, tuition is $13,499 a year for in-state students and $27,523 for out-of-state students.

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