Bay

If you are talking about the students themselves being illegal, then this is a false statement. Even with a college degree, they will be unable to legally get a job anywhere in the U.S. So enabling them to enroll in our taxpayer-subsidized public colleges and universities at in-state tuition rates is a waste of taxpayer resources.

If you are talking about U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants, that is a different story. They are U.S. citizens and legal residents of their state.

I'm guessing you are talking about the former situation. Please clarify.

bluebayou

lgm:

there are many communities in California in which internationals move or send their kids to the local public HS for three years. Sometimes the mom moves with the kids, sometimes not. Other times a local relative looks in on the kids, who essentially live on thier own. Kinda like a boarding school?. Of course, the ultimate college goal is HYPSM, but barring that, Cal-Berkeley is still highly regarded. And, once they graduate from a Calif HS, the kids don't even need a current visa to attend UC!

For the purposes of official reporting such kids are considered California residents, not internationals.

littlegreenmom

Wow, bluebayou!

You learn something new, every day. I haven't run into any of those types of students.

Amazing.

soccerguy315

children born in the US are not illegal aliens.

yabeyabe2

Sorry not to be clearer re the parents, rather than the children, being illegal immigrants. Do you folks believe that the parents' status is irrelevant or that the parents perhaps not being state taxpayers should make them ineligible?

romanigypsyeyes

^ I think that area becomes too murky then. What if a child is in foster care because his/her parents have been locked up their whole lives (thus, not paying taxes)? Or what if that child's parents live on welfare (also not paying taxes, I BELIEVE please correct me if I'm wrong)?

If the child is a citizen, they should get instate tuition. The reality is it would not be a financial burden on the state because the vast majority of the children of illegal immigrants never make it to college anyways.

tom1944

If the child is a citizen it would be unconstitutional to deny in state tuition based on their parents immigration status IMHO

yabeyabe2

Below is an article from the Christian Science Monitor on the issue. And congratulations to all on the civil tone of the discussion of a hot button issue:

States move against in-state tuition for illegal immigrants
In recent years, states have barred undocumented students from getting the lower tuition fees.
By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor



Reporter Dan Wood discusses the plight of one young illegal immigrant, trying to better her situation.

Los Angeles - Of all illegal immigrants, young people who were brought to the US as children have been the ones most likely to win concessions from the public. But the recession appears to be changing that, driving sentiment against educational benefits for undocumented college students.

Some states are explicitly refusing to allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition fees at colleges, reversing a previous trend. In-state tuition tends to be two to three times less than what out-of-state students pay.

Since 2006, four states – Georgia, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Arizona – have made undocumented students ineligible for in-state tuition rates. In Arizona, the ban came through a voter initiative after legislation was vetoed by the governor.

Last year, South Carolina banned undocumented students from enrolling at all in its public colleges, and North Carolina barred them from its community colleges in 2007.

By contrast, between 2001 and 2006, 10 states – among them California, Kansas, and New York – passed legislation awarding in-state tuition rates to undocumented students. The issue is current again in California, where a new bill would let undocumented students qualify for financial aid.

The economic downturn may be a factor in the recent shift. "Obviously, one of the biggest concerns for middle-class families right now is how to get their kids through college and how are we going to pay for this," says Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which advocates reducing immigration. "A large portion of middle-class America sees this as a real threat to the interests of their own kids."

Complicating the issue is an older federal law that says states can't make in-state tuition available for undocumented students unless they do the same for citizens from anywhere in the US. California, Kansas, and other states have faced lawsuits contending that they are violating this federal law. The California case was defeated, but the Kansas one is still on appeal.

Amnesty or investment?

About 65,000 of the 2.8 million American teens who graduate from high school each year are undocumented, according to assistant Senate majority leader Richard Durbin (D) of Illinois.

Last week, Senator Durbin and Sen. Richard Lugar (R) of Indiana introduced the Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, a bipartisan measure to make it easier for undocumented students to become permanent residents if they came here as children, are long-term US residents, have good character, and attend college or enlist in the military for at least two years.

"Our current immigration laws prevent thousands of young people from pursuing their dreams and fully contributing to our nation's future," Durbin said in a statement. "These young people have lived in this country for most of their lives. It is the only home they know. They are American in every sense except their technical legal status."

But variations of this federal bill have been rejected before, with opponents charging that the measures amount to amnesty that rewards illegal behavior and encourages illegal immigration.

"These bills have not sat well with average middle-class taxpayers in this country, given the fact that every state university in the country is in trouble," says Mr. Mehlman.

However, the 10 states that have allowed undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition have "not experienced a large influx that 'displaces' native-born students or added financial burdens to their educational systems," says one study. The 2007 report by the research arm of the American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) also said that education would help these undocumented students pay more in taxes.

Some states – Connecticut, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, and Rhode Island – recently have proposed laws to give in-state tuition to undocumented students. Colorado also is pondering reversing its ban.

The Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee (ALIPAC) said it is stepping up its campaign to halt the bills in these states. The group, which has stopped such bills before, shows polls to lawmakers indicating that 80 percent of respondents oppose in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.

It also uses a network of Internet bloggers and radio talk shows to keep the issue alive. "If enough people are informed about these bills before they pass, a backlash is created which makes them fail," says William Gheen, president of ALIPAC.

California's dream act

The debate over undocumented students extends beyond tuition fees. In California, where illegal immigrants are allowed to pay in-state rates, a separate bill on financial aid was introduced recently by state Sen. Gil Cedillo (D) of Los Angeles.

The so-called California Dream Act would allow undocumented students to compete for financial aid at public colleges and universities in the state. About 25,000 undocumented students graduate from California high schools every year, according to Senator Cedillo's office.

The bill has passed the Legislature three times before but has been vetoed by the governor each time, says Cedillo's office.

Myrna Ortiz, a sophomore at UCLA who came to the US from Mexico as a child, is one student who would benefit from Cedillo's bill. She was forced to take the winter quarter off after running out of money. Her father is a mechanic, her mother a volunteer, and her undocumented status means she can't find work easily. She has an internship with a local immigrant-rights group, but that doesn't pay much either.

"We've been here our whole lives, and all we want to do is contribute back," says Ms. Ortiz

romanigypsyeyes

This is exactly one of the reasons that we need major immigrant reform in America. Most of these undocumented kids ONLY know America and that is their only home. Yet, you have some people screaming for them to "go back to Mexico", a place they've never known. It is not their fault that their parents broke the law and they are Americans in every sense of the word, except that their parents came here illegally.

I say that if these kids want to go to college, by all means let them!

Again, people say that it rewards illegal behavior. Tell me, what four year old makes the decision to break the law? Do not punish the child for the deeds of the parent. How many of us would be in trouble if we got punished for our parents doing something illegal? I know I would be.

Just my two cents. Very good article btw.

littlegreenmom

yabeyabe,

We have had many other threads on this topic in the past. Sometimes it got heated...

poetgrl

"The so-called California Dream Act would allow undocumented students to compete for financial aid at public colleges and universities in the state."

I would not like this at all if I were a middle-class taxpaying Californian.

Hunt

If this is true, how much energy is it worth putting into this issue? I'll bet most of those 65,000 don't go to college at all, and we're (mostly) only talking about the difference between instate and out-of-state tuition. I guess it's symbolic, but in terms of dollars, it's inconsequential.

Bay

yabeyabe,
The article you cited is referring to undocumented children who were NOT born in the U.S. A very different animal under the law than a U.S. - born child of illegal immigrants.

Again, how so? Even with a college degree, they are INELIGIBLE to legally work in the U.S. (unless something like the Dream Act passes, which has not). They will have to use fraudulent docs to get a higher tax-paying job, or to work at all.

That is why, at least right now (without a Dream Act), it makes way more sense for these stuents to go to college in the country of their citizenship. People go to college abroad all the time. Why do we think it is particularly cruel for these students to do so?

yabeyabe2

I understand the legal difference between children born to illegal aliens before and after they get here. Does it strike people as odd that an infant carried across the border by a pregnant illegal immigrant will have fewer rights than the newborn will have?

littlegreenmom

What if the child crosses when they are 8, or 12 or 14?