Under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Mexican students living near the US border can now attend community colleges in California at in-state tuition rates.
The law was signed on Friday and will apply to low-income Mexican residents who live within 45 miles of the California-Mexico border and want to attend a community college in southern California.
The pilot program is set to begin next year and will run until 2029.
All students involved in the program have to either be US or Mexican citizens with a required visa.
The current annual average cost of community college tuition in California is $1,246 for in-state students and $6,603 for out-of-state students.
The new law will make college costs considerably cheaper for Mexicans and help make education more accessible for low-income students.
California State Assembly Member David Alvarez, who authored the proposal, told the Los Angeles Times: “There are students who might actually be US citizens but happen to be living in the Baja region because of the cost of living.
“So there are some students who find themselves in that situation who don’t have a California residence because families can’t afford to live here.”
About 7,000 students cross the California-Mexico border every day, according to the Sacramento Bee.
The new legislation states that community college boards will need to submit a report to lawmakers by 2028 to show attendance rates and demographics of students in the program.
In separate legislation on Friday, Newsom raised the minimum wage for healthcare workers to $25 per hour over the next decade.
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