Comments on: Should Illegal Immigrants Get In-State Tuition Rates?

By: Charity Dell

Charity Dell — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:04:10 +0000

Most Americans forget that the majority of undocumented illegals have come to the US to WORK, not just loaf around and ask for free “hand-outs.”
Going to college to obtain an education is an extension of preparing for work and ultimately, preparing to become self-sustaining and economically fit for the future. Those children of illegals who aspire to university-level study are not likely to be involved with drugs and criminal activities. Many of them also work to help their families eat and pay bills.
Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that supporting these students for college/university is much more cost-effective than having to pay $50,000 or more a year to house them in prison, or spend thousands
more trying to “support generations of a welfare family”. Most college graduates can expect to enter white-collar professions and managerial
positions, and the “illegal student” supported by my tax dollars just might become the “sharp young surgeon” who repairs my heart a few years from
now.
As the richest nation on the planet, we could easily “afford” to educate ALL the young people who live in our country–native and/or undocumented–by just transferring a mere FRACTION of what this country
spends on two foreign wars EVERY MONTH to colleges and universities.
This would stimulate another growth industry–education–and thousands more teachers can be employed to instruct these students. Employed teachers spend money and thus help to stimulate the local economies in which they reside. More students=more teachers=a boost to countless retailers….a win-win situation for all Americans and most of these college graduates could take their place as productive citizens in society.

By: jayejfenderson

jayejfenderson — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:41:07 +0000

Thank you for this insightful comment! You bring up some excellent points to ponder.

By: Jeff Dotts

Jeff Dotts — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:33:53 +0000

It’s important to put the issues of immigration and the issues of education into separate buckets for discussion. The DREAM Act is a matter of education and, on a more macro scale, the request for a cultural paradigm shift.
Children of undocumented immigrants are promised a K-12 education once in America. The recent trend, especially among immigrants from Latin America, however is an increase in drop-out as graduation nears. There is anecdotal evidence that suggests this is a result of youth seeing a narrowing of opportunity following graduation. As an issue of education, we can easily connect drop-out to increases in incarceration, higher demographic rates of poverty, and increased economic pressure on the social services system. The reality is that immigrant youth have been in public schools, learning to be Americans – in identity and spirit – with the same aspirations and dreams. Supporting them for four more years of higher education is far less costly than supporting them indefinitely in prisons and with social services. The 10 states that, since 2001, have passed laws allowing undocumented students who graduate from in-state high schools to qualify for in-state college tuition have not experienced a large influx of new immigrant students who have displaced native-born students or added financial burdens to their education systems.
In fact, these measures tend to increase school revenues by bringing in tuition from students who otherwise would not be in college.
Kids coming to America frequently don’t have a choice. But when they do choose to take advantage of the educational system, shouldn’t we empower them to take full advantage?