Posted on 12/05/2010 9:23:17 AM PST by freespirited
This Memorandum examines the costs and likely impact of the DREAM Act currently being considered by Congress. The act offers permanent legal status to illegal immigrants up to age 35 who arrived in the United States before age 16 provided they complete two years of college. Under the act, beneficiaries would receive in-state tuition. Given the low income of illegal immigrants, most can be expected to attend state schools, with a cost to taxpayers in the billions of dollars. As both funds and slots are limited at state universities and community colleges, the act may reduce the educational opportunities available to U.S. citizens.
Among the findings:
•Assuming no fraud, we conservatively estimate that 1.03 million illegal immigrants will eventually enroll in public institutions (state universities or community colleges) as a result of the DREAM Act. That is, they meet the residence and age requirements of the act, have graduated high school, or will do so, and will come forward.
•On average, each illegal immigrant who attends a public institution will receive a tuition subsidy from taxpayers of nearly $6,000 for each year he or she attends, for total cost of $6.2 billion a year, not including other forms of financial assistance they may also receive.
•The above estimate is for the number who will enroll in public institutions. A large share of those who attend college may not complete the two full years necessary to receive permanent residence.
•The cost estimate assumes that the overwhelming majority will enroll in community colleges, which are much cheaper for students and taxpayers than state universities.
•The estimate is only for new students not yet enrolled. It does not include illegal immigrants currently enrolled at public institutions or those who have already completed two years of college. Moreover, it does not include the modest number of illegal immigrants who are expected to attend private institutions.
•The DREAM Act does not provide funding to states and counties to cover the costs it imposes. Since enrollment and funding are limited at public institutions, the act’s passage will require some combination of tuition increases, tax increases to expand enrollment, or a reduction in spaces available for American citizens at these schools.
•Tuition hikes will be particularly difficult for students, as many Americans already find it difficult to pay for college. Research indicates that one out of three college students drops out before receiving a degree. Costs are a major reason for the high dropout rate.
•In 2009 there were 10.2 million U.S. citizens under age 35 who had dropped out of college without receiving a degree. There were an additional 15.2 million citizens under age 35 who had completed high school, but never attended college.
•Lawmakers need to consider the strains the DREAM Act will create and the impact of adding roughly one million students to state universities and community colleges on the educational opportunities available to American citizens.
•Providing state schools with added financial support to offset the costs of the DREAM Act would avoid the fiscal costs at the state and local level, but it would shift the costs to federal taxpayers.
•Advocates of the DREAM Act argue that it will significantly increase tax revenue, because with a college education, recipients will earn more and pay more in taxes over their lifetime. However, several factors need to be considered when evaluating this argument:
◦Any hoped-for tax benefit is in the long-term, and will not help public institutions deal with the large influx of new students the act creates in the short-term.
◦Given limited spaces at public institutions, there will almost certainly be some crowding out of U.S. citizens ─ reducing their lifetime earnings and tax payments.
◦The DREAM Act only requires two years of college; no degree is necessary. The income gains for having some college, but no degree, are modest.
◦Because college dropout rates are high, many illegal immigrants who enroll at public institutions will not complete the two years the act requires, so taxpayers will bear the expense without a long-term benefit.
I am surprised to see CIS publish what strikes me as a somewhat naive take on the costs involved. Taxpayer subsidies to colleges are just the beginning, and a mere fraction of the potential costs.
What's the latest on this Dream Act. When will democrat Reid bring up the Dream act again?
“Given the low income of illegal immigrants, most can be expected to attend state schools, with a cost to taxpayers in the billions of dollars.”
and major in Hispanic studies or some other bogus degree
This is why you see so many many foreign graduate students in our universities. They don't care they are educating potential terrorists and/or adversaries (ideological, political or otherwise). In my state, the problem is particularly bad. You almost can't find a native born citizen/resident of Georgia in graduate programs in a college worth a damn.
Last I heard Reid was planning to file for cloture on Monday and hold a vote as early as Wed. If he does, it’s just for show, because all 42 GOP senators have pledged to block all legislation until the tax cut and government funding bills are passed.
If they pass the bills that the GOP wants, the chances of this turkey passing are still not good due to opposition from a half dozen or so RATS. Harry has an uphill battle trying to get to 60. Of course anything can happen, but in all likelihood this is just the usual theatre to satisfy a RAT constituency, with no expectation of passage among those who know what is going on.
Thanks for the info. Keeping fingers crossed this Amnesy, this cultural Marxism , this evil bill from the democrats/marxists does not pass.
What I really despise about liberals and their globalist enablers is that they love to spout how Americans are stupid and under-educated, yet these same people are the first in line to give what available university spots that exist to foreigners and foreign criminals.
Liberals don’t believe in the Law of Scarcity and public university is a scarce commodity, subsidized by the American taxpayers to support American education.
And what is even more sickening is that once foreign criminals are legalized, they will be able to claim victim and oppressed status by virtue of being a supposed minority and push out qualified American applicants in the name of affirmative action and social justice.
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