Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) has supported legislation to give illegal immigrants free college tuition and driver’s licenses.
According to SCRIPPS News, a 2023 omnibus education allowed noncitizens to apply for free tuition within the Minnesota State and University of Minnesota school systems if they make less than $80,000 a year.
Noncitizens are not permitted to attend private schools.
The education program, called North Star Promise, creates a “tuition and fee-free pathway to higher education for eligible Minnesota residents at eligible institutions as a ‘last-dollar’ program by covering the balance of tuition and fees remaining after other scholarships, grants, stipends and tuition waivers have been applied,” according to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.
The program aims to “stabilize enrollment at Minnesota public institutions of higher education,” educate “qualified workers who are much needed to fill vacancies in the state’s labor force,” and “create a viable higher education path for Minnesota residents who may have previously thought education was not a possibility for them.”
Another 2023 bill provided driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
Walz said at the time of the bill’s passage that “ensuring drivers in our state are licensed and carry insurance makes the roads safer for all Minnesotans.”
He claimed that the bill made “roads safer” and moved the state “toward our goal of making Minnesota the best state to raise a family for everyone.”