FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- At least 10 undocumented students from Colorado will get to attend classes at the University of New Mexico this fall, with many not having to pay for tuition or books.

A new Colorado law prohibits state colleges from providing in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants.

In New Mexico, the state is barred from denying education benefits based on immigration status, said Terry Babbitt, director of admissions for the University of New Mexico.

While New Mexico's state financial aid is intended for residents, Poudre High School counselor Isabel Thacker in Colorado found a way for her students to receive in-state tuition, plus scholarships to cover it.

"Students can enroll for up to six credit hours and get the in-state rate (at UNM)," said Alex Gonzalez, associate director of the scholarship office at UNM. "They can then go across the street to Central New Mexico Community College and enroll for another six hours and continue to pay the UNM in-state tuition rate. They then are counted as full-time UNM students."

A full year of tuition at UNM, or 12 credit hours per semester, costs $4,570.80, Gonzalez said. An institutional scholarship available to undocumented students covers $5,000 of their tuition and book expenses, meaning the students' costs for attending college would be minimal.

"The neat thing about the program at Poudre is that we have been able to open the door of opportunity for these students," said Thacker, a Cuban-born citizen who came to the United States with her parents when she was 9.

The four students who attended UNM through the program last year all earned a grade point average of at least 3.0, Thacker said. Students entering the program have an average GPA of 3.5, have taken advanced placement classes and were involved in extracurricular activities, Thacker said.

Nine undocumented students from Poudre High and one from Fort Collins High School will attend UNM in the fall through the program.

Former Colorado Senate President John Andrews, who backed the campaign to deny certain services to illegal immigrants in Colorado, said he was concerned about the program.

"Now that a high school graduate is of age, they are recognized as young adults and they become responsible for their own action," he said.

"The only law-abiding choice that a young person like this can make is to return to their country of origin after graduating high school. I don't think that we are doing a high school graduate any favors by sending him or her the message that breaking the law benefits themselves. I believe in the letter of the law, and I am deeply troubled by this program," Andrews said.