Getting into college can be tough.

But for Karina Ambartsoumian, it was practically impossible.

She's an undocumented immigrant whose family escaped religious persecution when they brought her to the United States from the former Soviet Union when she was just 4 years old.

Now 25, she and her family have valid Social Security status and pay taxes. But she still lives each day knowing she could be kicked out of the country because she lacks the necessary paperwork.

While it will be a long road ahead for her to achieve citizenship, she might soon know what it's like to have the same opportunity as other Pennsylvania students.

Ambartsoumian, along with 30 other undocumented young people, joined immigrant advocates Tuesday in Harrisburg to drum up support for state Sen. Lloyd Smucker's legislation that would allow them to pay the in-state tuition price for state colleges here.

"I'm not asking for special treatment; I'm asking for equal treatment," Ambartsoumian told the crowd gathered in the State Capitol Rotunda. "As a resident who works and pays taxes, I deserve the same rights as other Pennsylvania students."

Smucker, a Republican from West Lampeter Township, says his bill — dubbed the Pennsylvania Dream Act — is about young people such as Ambartsoumian getting a chance to succeed in the place they've long called home.

Under Senate Bill 713, formally unveiled Tuesday, individuals must offer proof of having attended at least two years of high school and must meet all state residency requirements for financial aid. If admitted to college, the students would then be charged the lower in-state tuition rate.

The bill does not offer an option for permanent residency.

Students who are not legal residents of the state usually face having to pay more expensive out-of-state or international rates, and many public schools will not accept undocumented students.

"There continue to be students who are told by the gatekeepers that only some things are possible for them," he said to the audience. "They have been informed that as special and impressive as their achievements are, their potential is limited because they lack the necessary proof that they are as much a part of our communities as their friends and neighbors."

Without a pathway to higher education, Smucker says it puts undocumented students, as well as the state, at a disadvantage when they try to become income-earning, taxpaying adults.

"This law will finally allow young people who have lived in this state and grown up here a chance to fulfill their full potential," Natasha Kelemen, executive director of Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition, said in announcing the group's support.

Smucker also acknowledges the contributions made to the state's economy by families headed by unauthorized immigrants. In 2010, according to the Immigration and Citizenship Coalition, those families paid about $135 million in state and local taxes.

While advocates for immigrant and refugee rights in Pennsylvania are likely supporters of the proposal, the bill is getting support from other lawmakers as well.
Smucker's legislation has bipartisan support from 12 other senators who have signed on as cosponsors. Most of them are Democrats.

Although it might seem an unlikely issue for a Republican to champion, Smucker says the bill has the potential to benefit the state financially.

Despite the possible economic payoff, the lawmaker says his main motivation for crafting the bill were stories he heard from those who would benefit from it.

Smucker met with undocumented students in his legislative district — which includes Lancaster County south of Manheim Township and parts of eastern York County — to get their perspective.

School District of Lancaster Superintendent Pedro Rivera, who was also at the press conference, said he meets students every day who would be helped by Smucker's legislation.

"I serve a student population where 38 languages are spoken, where 7 percent of our students are immigrants or refugees, where 55 percent are Latino. ... I see first-hand the talent of our future, and how they continuously run into barriers," he told the crowd.
kshuey@lnpnews.com