Illegal....illegal....illegal....what is it going to take?
Posted on 04/13/2005 5:46:52 AM PDT by Constitution Day
Hunt touts bill to give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants
By WILLIAM L. HOLMES, Associated Press Writer
April 12, 2005 6:56 pm
RALEIGH, N.C. -- With North Carolina's Hispanic population booming -- and Hispanic children dropping out of school at alarming rates -- lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday that would extend resident tuition rates at public universities to the children of illegal immigrants.
Former Gov. Jim Hunt returned to the General Assembly to show his support for the legislation, which is sponsored in the House by two Republicans and two Democrats. The measure would give in-state tuition to students who attended schools in North Carolina for at least four consecutive years before graduation. Young people in the country would have to apply for legal immigration status to receive the resident rate.
"It is morally right and it is economically necessary for our state," Hunt said. "We need these students. They have worked hard. They have excelled in high school. We need them to get all the education they can get."
The bill appears to enjoy wide support; by Tuesday, 31 legislators had signed on as co-sponsors, drawing an expression of surprise from the president of a Raleigh-based group that lobbies for tighter restrictions on immigration.
"It's amazing that 35 politicians are so out of touch with their constituents," said William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration.
Illegal immigrants admitted to University of North Carolina schools would take up some of the limited number of spots for in-state residents, Gheen said.
"I hate to see a bill that will eventually replace thousands of Americans in college with illegal immigrants at taxpayer expense," Gheen said.
Supporters of the bill say the alternative is a growing number of young Hispanics without a college education even in the face of growing demand for bilingual workers. Supporters expect 480 students to 1,345 students to apply for admission to University of North Carolina schools this year if the bill passes.
"It makes economic sense to give these students ... an opportunity to succeed," said Andrea Bazan-Manson, executive director of the Raleigh-based Hispanic advocacy group El Pueblo.
Illegal immigrants are allowed to apply to any college they wish to attend, but they must pay out-of-state tuition if they are accepted to a public university in North Carolina, regardless of where they live. The state's flagship university, UNC-Chapel Hill, charges $3,200 a year for in-state tuition, compared to $16,300 for nonresident students.
One result is that many Hispanics quit school, knowing they can't afford to pay for college. About 58 percent of foreign-born Hispanics in North Carolina age 16 to 19 are dropouts, either in their home country or in the United States, according to an analysis of 2000 Census figures by the Pew Hispanic Center.
Rep. Jeff Barnhart, R-Cabarrus, one of the bill's sponsors, said the state wastes the abilities of talented students by restricting access to higher education.
"These children come to live here because their parents brought them," Barnhart said. "How far do we punish? These students are committed to their education and I'm 100 percent committed to helping them."
Jaime Zea, a 16-year-old student at Enloe High School in Raleigh, said many of his fellow Hispanic students have given up on education.
"It's a living hell for them," said Zea, the son of an accountant and a homemaker who moved her legally from Colombia four years ago.
Zea, who plans to attend college to study broadcast journalism and already produces a short news broadcast for his high school, said he wants others to have the same chance he'll have.
"It's not about me. It's about us," he said.
Nine states -- none in the South -- have approved similar legislation, said bill sponsor Rep. Rick Glazier, D-Cumberland. Similar measures are pending in 15 other states, including Florida, Georgia, Maryland and Arkansas.
"In the end, this bill is about economic development and it's about educational opportunity, but it's also about the soul of who we are," Glazier said. "Ultimately, it's about children."
Links related to this article:
El Pueblo: www.elpueblo.org
Americans for Legal Immigration PAC: www.alipac.us
URL for this article: http://heraldsun.com/state/6-596323.html
If it isn't one damn thing, it's another. I guess it makes perfectly good sense...if your a politician. These politicians never tire of seeking new ways to "screw over" American citizens. That'll sure solve the illegal problem. Why not take it a step further and charge in-state legal residents the out-of-state tuition rate as well.
I gotta confess, I'm really sick of these politicians who betray their trust and loyalty to this country in order to pander to the illegal crowd. What I now do when I receive these frequent solitations for $$$ from the RNC, the presidential re election campaign, the republican senatorial re-election committee, etc is to write "NOTHING UNTIL THE BORDERS ARE CLOSED" on the cover letter and mail it back. It's the only language these greedy politicains understand. I would recommend every citizen that wants to protect our country doing this.
It's politics, baby. There is no room for facts
I want to assume you are speaking for the politicians and not the way you calculate your own reasoning.
I guess it depends on what the word "illegal" means. Possibly some politicians do no know the meaning of the word "illegal".
They're quoting a legal alien about illegal immigration ? There's logic for ya!
I think this is where the politicians will try to "sway" us. Of course, all the article says is they have to apply for legal status. What if they are not granted legal status? Are they then denied the resident rate?
The whole damn thing stinks to high heaven! So the politicians want to reward people who broke the law. Well, I guess they are just being consistent!
It's simply a fact of life in NC. No one else will work tobacco. The construction companies can pay them a lot less for more work. Siler City is practically a Mexican province now. They may be illegal but no one seems interested in getting rid of them.
College tuition money for people who can't have a savings account. What a joke.
His "us" seems to be non-American-born students collectively. Since they appear to put their loyalty with their country of origin, maybe they should return there for higher education, and perhaps do something to improve all those dreadful countries. I'm sure Colombia needs more broadcast journalists.
This is insane.
Did anyone ask him how much this plan was going to raise tuition for legal, NC natives' children to attend school? And therefore NC taxes? Wouldn't students from another state be able to sue and demand the same treatment, which would also tend to raise tuition rates across the board? Seems to me they've got a good claim to being given the same tuition status as lawbreakers, what with our equal-protection laws and all.
If the NC Legislature jackasses manage to cram this burro hockey down our throats, it will be past time to flush that big commode in Raleigh and vote in some disenfectant to purify the place and rescend this idiot legislation, should it become law.
I grew up in North Carolina and my mother was too poor to send her kids to college on factory wages. No one sobbed for me then and gave me free tuition.
Those liberal professors will give them free A's and then America will be UTOPIA! How kind, how good the American people have become, and the UN will give us a standing ovation along with Bill Clinton and Kofi Anan. Jim Hunt's lips will get to Pulitzer Prize they always deserved, enshrined on Ted Kennedy's butt.
Illegal Immigration is a paradox. I wish Bush would have taken on this issue instead of SSecurity. The health care system cannot handle the double whammy of continued illegals and Hillary in the White House at the same time. Hillary Care for illegals will bring the USA down. But we'll have that standing ovation.
What's this ,"people who can't have a savings account" stuff? You aren't aware that aided by grants from the Federal government, Illegal Alien credit unions are operating all over this state?
What's the crap about no Americans willing to work in tobacco anymore? And what gives construction Co's or anyone else the right to flaunt the law by hiring illegals and who besides those profiteering construction outfits benefit from those low wages paid to illegals? Houses are more expensive than ever. And where is the benefit to our economy from the billions sent back to Mexico?
You are only partially right when you say no one seems interested in getting rid of them. Seems no one in a position to get rid of them, really gives a damn about the fact that those who elected their sorry @$$e$ wants to get rid of illegals.
"But we'll get that standing ovation."
They will love us to death.
Illegal....illegal....illegal....what is it going to take?
U.S. Constitution Article 4 Section 4:
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,
I though the Illegals were coming here only to take the jobs Americans didn't want?
Does immigration from Tennessee qualify?
It's suck-up to lawbreakers in Carolina.
I had to pay 7500 bucks to make my ex-wife legal even after 2 younguns.
un brinco.
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