(The Center Square) — A top New Hampshire Republican is demanding to know whether the state’s public college system is admitting students whose parents are living in the country illegally.
Deputy Majority Leader Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, said a public records request to the University System of New Hampshire, submitted under the state’s Right-to-Know law, revealed that nearly 1,000 international students were enrolled in the University of New Hampshire, Plymouth State University and Keene State College in the current academic year.
Sweeney said the data shows at least 742 New Hampshire residents have received denial letters from UNH over the past four years, and accused the university of encouraging foreign students to apply and giving them preference over residents.
“New Hampshire taxpayer funded colleges and universities are denying New Hampshire Residents admission while encouraging illegals to apply,” he said. “This is just wrong!”
Sweeney claims UNH’s admission website “encourages” the enrollment of undocumented students and students granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a program that allows certain immigrants, often referred to as “Dreamers,” to seek temporary protection from deportation.
“Our public universities must prioritize New Hampshire students — not international applicants or undocumented illegal aliens,” Sweeney said. “I will keep fighting to ensure accountability and fairness for our families and ensure that Granite Staters are put first.”
In a statement, UNH officials rejected Sweeney’s claim that New Hampshire students are being edged out by international students who were accepted.
“The university system accepts more than 85% of New Hampshire students who apply,” UNH said in a statement. “Students are denied admission if they are not academically prepared. The last thing we want to do is have students paying tuition and possibly taking on debt if they are not prepared. UNH does not admit international students at the expense of New Hampshire students.”
The wrangling comes as the Trump administration begins reversing the termination of legal status for international students around the country after several court rulings against the Department of Homeland Security’s recent move to revoke their visas or legal status in the country. More than 1,200 students nationwide were at risk for deportation, in some cases over minor violations.
