Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Illegal immigrants face threat of no college

USATODAY reported Some states are making it harder for illegal immigrants to attend college by denying in-state tuition benefits or banning undocumented students. In the past two years, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Oklahoma have refused in-state tuition benefits to students who entered the USA illegally with their parents but grew up and went to school in the state.
But they don't live legally in the state, so why should they get in state tuition rates.
That represents a reversal from earlier this decade, when 10 states passed laws allowing in-state rates for such students. This summer, South Carolina became the first state to bar undocumented students from all public colleges and universities.
Can't they go to college in their home country?
North Carolina's community colleges in May ordered its 58 campuses to stop enrolling undocumented students after the state attorney general said admitting them may violate federal law. "The new trend is to kick illegal aliens out of college altogether," says William Gheen of Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee, which opposes taxpayer subsidies for undocumented immigrants.
I also oppose taxpayer subsdoes for undocumented immigrants.

4 comments:

Jenn Sierra said...

FoxNews has a really good write-up on this, including information about a class-action suit in California by 60,000 American citizens who have had to pay out-of-state tuition when illegal immigrants were given in-state tuition rates.

The article also discusses that this is mostly a political discussion, because, in reality, "Even though some states have had the immigration tuition laws on the books for several years, undocumented students aren't banging down colleges' doors in droves...Many undocumented students aren't applying to college, even at these cheaper rates, for several reasons.

"Some would be the first in their family to go to college and often don't have the reinforcement at home encouraging them to apply. Others often feel the complicated admissions process and the language barrier is too overwhelming. But even if students get over all these hurdles and get into college, one huge fear that remains is deportation."

Anonymous said...

Illegal aliens should not be treated any better than citizens of other states of the United States.

zeezil said...

It is asinine and moronic that illegal aliens are allowed into colleges at all. I would argue that it is in violation of the 'aiding and abetting' statute in the 1986 IRCA.

Even if illegal aliens were to pay out of state tuition, it would not cover the entire cost of their education because of capital costs, often conveniently left out (or purposely lessened) in the total costs calculations. Therefore, taxpayer subsidization of illegal aliens would occur. Also, why would any legislator allow an illegal alien to take a seat in college from a deserving American citizen or legal immigrant?

Seats in colleges are a limited and highly coveted resource, why the hell would you put an illegal alien into one?
Also, why should we be in the business of educating and training a group of people who are illegally here and cannot legally be employed?

Anonymous said...

I say, anyone who comes to our country should come the LEGAL WAY!!! ANON