Mitt Romney gigs Rick Perry’s tuition offer to illegal immigrants

The political world now knows that Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed into law a 2001 proposal enabling some undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at his state’s public colleges and universities.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, heaving a reminder, floated a number in the Sept. 22, 2011, Republican presidential debate that especially resonates in Austin: “To go to the University of Texas, if you’re an illegal alien, you get an in-state tuition discount. You know how much that is? That’s $22,000 a year.”

Romney added: “Four years of college, almost $100,000 discount if you are an illegal alien (and) go to the University of Texas.”

Our take: Romney’s math mostly checks out, though only a small subgroup of illegal immigrants have applied the tuition benefit to attending UT-Austin.