The Special Residency Verification Committee of the Board of Regents recommended Tuesday that five of the more selective Georgia colleges and universities should turn down undocumented immigrants when reviewing applicants in certain situations.

The Board of Regents asked all Georgia universities to report the residency status of students by Sept. 14. Two undocumented returning students and no incoming students were found at the University.

The immigration issue in Nevada sparked national debate, so this topic may further a political divide. To some, rejecting undocumented students may seem fair, but to others, it’s unconstitutional and discriminative. The Red & Black asked several students to share their opinions on the topic.

PERCY OLIVER

sophomore business major from Duluth

“I think it’s actually fair to deny illegal students because I feel that a lot of the other people who work hard here that are citizens deserve the right to be accepted into a school before other people that aren’t legally here.”

ASHLEY TRICE

freshman criminal

justice major from Riverdale

“I say they should be able to come to school and get an education even if they do have to pay for it. They should pay out-of-state tuition only because I’ve been in Georgia all my life so I’ve got HOPE. I don’t want somebody else who just came in to get HOPE.”

SAM CHUN

junior accounting major from Seoul, South Korea

“I was an illegal immigrant myself. I just got my citizenship when my dad got his six years ago. I was like everybody else playing around as a kid and studying like everybody else, so just a document didn’t really separate me as a person from everybody else. The school should give a chance for those that don’t have the privilege to be educated.”

KRISHNA PATEL

sophomore international affairs major from Alpharetta

“I don’t think there’s any reason to deny admission if you can pay for it because it’s not like your tax money is going towards it. I know a lot of people object to the fact that illegals get HOPE because they don’t pay taxes but if they can pay for the tuition that would be fine.”