JEFFERSON CITY - If they want to continue receiving appropriations, Missouri’s public universities would have to demonstrate to the state that they are refusing to admit illegal aliens under a bill heard yesterday by a House committee.

It’s already unlawful under federal law for an illegal alien to reside in the United States. However, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jerry Nolte, R-Gladstone, said he wanted to make sure all higher education institutions were uniformly prohibiting illegal aliens’ entry to college.

Nolte’s bill requires the registrars of each institution to certify to the state that the institution has not knowingly admitted illegal aliens before the state appropriates money to the school. Nolte said schools that allow illegal aliens to attend college create an incentive for others to unlawfully enter the country. He said he did not know how many illegal aliens were attending Missouri’s public colleges and universities.

Rep. Beth Low, D-Kansas City, is a member of the House Higher Education Committee that heard the bill. Low said that children of illegal aliens were in this country through no fault of their own and deserved the opportunity to better themselves.

Kris Kobach, a law professor from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, testified in favor of the bill. He said universities that admit illegal aliens violate federal law. He said aliens can now legally attend colleges if they have a visa or a temporary residency document known as a "green card."

But Kobach, who formerly worked in the Department of Justice, said some states allow illegal aliens to attend college. "In the absence of this bill, college officials in Missouri may violate federal law," Kobach said.

Low said the bill should be drafted more broadly to require businesses receiving tax breaks from the state to demonstrate that they are not employing illegal aliens.

Otto Fajen, a lobbyist for the Missouri National Education Association, said the bill could have short-term consequences such as preventing people from improving their economic status, making them prone to criminal activity or causing them to be dependent on social welfare systems.

The committee took no action on the bill.