KANSAS CITY (AP) - Gov. Jay Nixon said Saturday that he is vetoing a measure that would block immigrants who are illegally in the U.S. from receiving money under Missouri's A+ scholarship program.
He made the announcement during a speech to the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group that is having its annual convention in Kansas City.
The measure would have required students be permanent residents or U.S. citizens in order to get the state's A+ Scholarship, which provides two years of free tuition at community colleges. Supporters said it was meant to limit the number of people receiving scholarships in order to preserve them for Missouri residents.
But Democratic opponents and advocates for immigrants said it would cause financial hardship for hardworking students seeking to get a college education and contribute to society.
In his veto message, the Governor wrote that the bill was a "imposed unfairly on children who have done nothing wrong."