A Dream Deferred

Georgia’s undocumented immigrant youth face challenges that their counterparts in other states do not. Georgia is one of three states that legally bars its public university system from offering in-state tuition rates to undocumented students. The out-of-state tuition rate, charged to students who are not Georgia residents, can be triple the in-state tuition rate. This report analyzes the consequences of the Georgia law and policy, which are now nine and seven years old respectively, on undocumented students and their families, and all Georgians. The first section provides background information detailing the methodology of this report, the context of the passage of the Georgia law and policy, and the human right to education. The second section explores the educational, economic, and health-related impacts linked to the Georgia law and policy as determined through social science research, and interviews with undocumented students, their parents, and service providers to Georgia’s undocumented residents. This report concludes by detailing how Georgia as a whole loses from its shortsighted law and policy and the threat they pose to the state’s economy.