Since President Obama’s executive action in 2012 that deferred the deportation of millions of young immigrants brought into the country illegally by their parents, some institutions of higher learning have given financial aid directly to those same young immigrants entering their schools as students. This use of the colleges’ money has fanned the flames of the already simmering national debate on immigration rights and reform.

Most immigrants receiving financial aid are still largely ineligible for state or federal student aid. New York University – which receives city, state, and federal money – insists that American students are not affected by the aid given to illegal immigrants. “This is not taking away from anybody,” said MJ Knoll-Finn, and NYU admissions officer. “This is a formalized way of making sure these students know they’re welcome.”

Of course, others find fault with the college’s practice. “This policy not only encourages new illegal immigration, but comes at the expense of the college dreams of young Americans,” said the spokesman for Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama and chairman of the Senate subcommittee on the national interest in immigration.

“The fact is, there is not an unlimited pot of money to help needy students or high-achieving low-income students. And there is a certain one-for-one, a crowding-out effect,” said Steven Camarota, research director for the Center of Immigration Studies, adding that the plan has a “zero-sum aspect to it.”

NYU President John Sexton upholds the giving of financial aid to immigrant students, in addition to pledging the school’s community support of a budget proposal to extend financial aid to illegal immigrants, put forth by Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In a February 7 letter to Cuomo, Sexton wrote, “Expanding educational opportunities for immigrant youth not only helps individual students. It helps entire communities, states and the nation as a whole.” On Thursday, the New York legislature will vote on whether or not to pass the “DREAM” act, which would make illegal immigrants eligible for state tuition breaks and college savings plans.

The issue of student aid comes to light in the wake of extreme measures taken across the country related to immigration reform. Congressional Republicans threatened to shut down the Department of Homeland Security this week in an effort to block the effects of President Obama’s executive action, and only a last-minute stop-gap measure prevented the threat from being carried through. A judge in Texas also put a stop to the executive actions earlier this month, an action which will likely come to a federal appeals court.

Colleges in favor of offering aid to immigrant students argue that the new measures will increase diversity on campuses, and those students will offer unique perspectives of their learning environments. Daniel R. Porterfield, president of Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, said the controversial executive action “now gives students the legal right to be more out of the shadows than they had been when they were simply undocumented.”