Attorney General Mark Herring issued the following statement following a vote by the Senate of Virginia to reject legislation to take away in-state tuition from Virginia students who have been declared “lawfully present” through acceptance into the federal “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)” program.
“This is good news for Virginia’s economy, its businesses, and especially for the hardworking young immigrants who want to pursue an affordable college education in their home state. If these students have done the work to gain admission to a state school, and have been deemed lawfully present through the federal “deferred action” program, current state law allows them to continue to climb the ladder of success and become part of the next generation of Virginia entrepreneurs and job creators. It’s heartening to see a bipartisan group of Senators showed compassion and fairness towards these young people.”