Prairie State Wire

Illinois State Rep. Aaron Ortiz (D-Chicago) wants to make it easier for Illegal aliens to get in-state tuition and taxpayer-funded Illinois colleges and universities.

House Bill 5568, sponsored by Ortiz and filed in the Illinois House on Fri. Feb 9, would remove the current requirement that an illegal alien has lived with a parent or guardian, and that they have attended an Illinois high school for three years.

Ortiz wants to remove the parent or guardian requirement, and to make eligible illegal aliens who didn’t attend high school but who have received a general education degree, or “GED.”

In 2003, Acevedo sponsored a bill that allowed illegal alien students in Illinois to receive in-state tuition rates at state colleges and universities so long as they have an Illinois high school diploma or GED, and provided the state school with  an affidavit promising they will file to become a legal permanent resident of the U.S. when eligible to do so. 

It was signed into law on May 20, 2003 by then Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D).

According to the federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), states are prohibited from providing any higher education benefit based on residence to illegal aliens unless U.S. citizens get the same benefit.

Ortiz represents Illinois House District 1, a position he was elected to in 2019. He is running for reelection and is on the Democratic primary ballot on March 19, 2024. Ortiz was born in Gage Park, Illinois, and earned his degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before running for office, he worked for Chicago Public Schools.