ATLANTA, GA – FWD.us Georgia State Director Sam Aguilar released the following statement today on the introduction of the Georgia Resident In-State Tuition Act (HB-997) in the Georgia House of Representatives, which would expand access to higher education for young undocumented Georgians by allowing them to qualify for in-state tuition at certain state colleges and universities:

“We are grateful to State Representatives Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton), Wes Cantrell (R-Woodstock), Josh Bonner (R-Fayetteville) and Spencer Frye (D-Athens) for introducing this commonsense legislation, which would help more hardworking young Georgians access higher education opportunities. Tuition equity is crucial to enabling more talented, qualified individuals to advance their education, which will help fill the skills gap and address key labor shortages, build a prosperous workforce, and ensure that we can create more jobs and boost economic growth. At the end of the day, expanding opportunity for Dreamers and their families is both the right thing to do, and will help grow Georgia’s economy.

“Georgia is the number one state in which to do business, but our current failure to provide tuition equity for Dreamers is preventing hardworking individuals from achieving their full potential and is holding our economy back. We need to continue to invest in young people who want to build their lives in our state. Right now, the high cost of out-of-state tuition is a major factor discouraging Georgia Dreamers from attending college, hurting the state’s economic competitiveness. Thousands of Dreamers call Georgia home, and have lived the majority of their lives here – and they should be eligible for the same in-state tuition rates as all other Georgians who have completed high school or the equivalent. We urge lawmakers to support this commonsense bill, which will strengthen Georgia communities and our economy.”