DepositPhotos. California operates one of the broadest systems of state financial aid available to undocumented students in the country, and roughly 102,000 were enrolled in the state’s colleges and universities as of 2023, the largest share of any state. The programs have become a live political issue heading into next year’s governor’s race.[DepositPhotos.] The aid structure dates back more than two decades.

Assembly Bill 540, signed in 2001, lets qualifying students who are not California residents, including undocumented immigrants, avoid higher nonresident tuition at public institutions. A decade later the California Dream Act opened state and campus-funded aid to qualifying undocumented students, at an estimated cost of $65 million when it launched. Eligible students can also access the California Dream Loan program, which provides subsidized loans to those ineligible for federal student aid, and the California College Promise Grant, which waives the community college enrollment fee of $46 per unit. Notably, demand for the loan program has fallen short of what is budgeted. The state provides the UC system $2.5 million annually, which UC matches, and a report to the Legislature acknowledged that “demand for the program has not yet matched the funding available.”DepositPhotos. Students who do not qualify for meaningful aid describe a different experience. USC senior Ava Schmidt, 21, said she received $2,000 in aid last year against tuition topping $75,000, leaving her father to draw from retirement savings and take loans. “I felt like I did all the work to earn my spot in this school,” she said. Chapman University senior Cooper Vincik, 21, expects to graduate owing tens of thousands despite spending two years at community college first. He was careful about the framing: “It’s a very tricky subject, especially in this state, because one of my best friends growing up, his parents illegally immigrated to this country.”[DepositPhotos.] Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office disputes the premise that undocumented students receive more aid because of their status. A spokesman said California has improved college affordability and access, noting that 23% of first-time, full-time California undergraduates held student loans in 2022-23 compared with 38% nationally. Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton has said he would cut state-funded aid for undocumented students if elected. Worth noting is that the two students quoted attend private universities, where the state aid programs at issue do not apply to tuition, and California’s average in-state public tuition sits near the national average, with housing and living costs driving much of the burden students describe.