Topeka ? Opponents and supporters of providing a tuition break for certain illegal immigrants renewed their arguments Wednesday before a Kansas House committee.

Supporters of the lower tuition said many of the students benefiting from the law came into the country illegally as children with their parents.

“I’m not willing to punish the child for the sins of the parents,” said Rep. Tom Burroughs, D-Kansas City.

Burroughs was backed by church, Hispanic, education and civic advocacy groups.

But opponents who want to repeal the measure say it rewards people who are in the country illegally.

“We are a country of laws,” said Rep. Judy Morrison, R-Shawnee. She added that those who testified in favor of resident tuition for illegal immigrants made her feel uncomfortable.

“They seem to be here to make us feel guilty,” she said.

Since the law was approved two years ago, 221 students have benefited from the measure. At Kansas University, two students were enrolled under the law in 2004 and four in 2005.

Many of the same arguments for and against the statute made in 2004 were repeated Wednesday before the House Federal and State Affairs Committee.

After the nearly two-hour meeting, committee chairman John Edmonds, R-Great Bend, said he didn’t know what he would do with the repeal measure.

“We’ll have to wait and see where the votes are,” Edmonds said.

Rep. Becky Hutchins, R-Holton, filed the repeal bill, saying: “This is not a racial issue. But there is something wrong when a U.S. citizen is denied an opportunity of getting something an illegal alien can get.”

Currently, only residents of Kansas are eligible for the resident tuition rate. Resident tuition at KU for a full-time undergraduate is $2,412 per semester; it’s $6,638 for nonresident students.

The 2004 law allows some illegal immigrants to qualify for resident tuition if they attended a Kansas high school for at least three years and graduated or earned a general educational development certificate in Kansas. Also, they must be seeking legal immigration status.

Supporters of the law said it would help children of illegal immigrants advance to college and become more productive members of society.

Cindy Perez, 18, a student at Pittsburg State University, said she would not have been able to attend college if she had to pay the higher nonresident tuition.

“My future is in your hands,” Perez said. She said she has lived in Kansas for more than 12 years. “I consider Kansas to be my home.”