Posted on 09/05/2005 3:25:20 PM PDT by dennisw
Delgado didn't want to leave his hometown in Monterrey, Mexico, but his father — a teacher who made little money — continued to pressure him.
Delgado finally came to Texas on a tourist visa and moved in with an aunt. The visa quickly expired, but last week, the 21-year-old became a San Antonio College student, thanks to a Texas law enacted in 2001 that allows undocumented immigrants to qualify for in-state tuition at public schools.
That law is being challenged by the Washington Legal Foundation, a conservative legal and advocacy organization that argues Texas is breaking federal law by giving migrant students an unfair break.
A complaint filed with the Department of Homeland Security charges Texas is violating a 1996 federal law that says if public colleges offer discounted rates to undocumented students, they must do the same for U.S. citizens from out of state. Students who live out of state typically pay significantly higher tuition than in-state students at public schools.
Lamar Smith, the Republican congressman from San Antonio who wrote and sponsored that federal law, said he supports the foundation's effort.
"States shouldn't treat illegal immigrants better than American citizens," Smith said.
Educators don't see it that way.
"These are members of our community," SAC President Robert Zeigler said. "We want to encourage them to get an education and better their lives. We do not want to make it more difficult for them."
SAC, part of the Alamo Community College District, enrolls the second highest number of undocumented immigrants in the state, after the Houston Community College System.
An ACCD student who lives within the district pays $616 a semester for a 12-hour course load; a non-Texas resident or international student pays $2,056, or more than three times as much.
Of Texas' 1.2 million higher education students, roughly 3,700 are undocumented immigrants who pay in-state tuition, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. That's less than one-half of 1 percent.
"It's absurd to claim these students are taking money away from legal residents," said Raymund Paredes, the state's higher education commissioner.
The foundation's complaint comes at a time when Texas is struggling to enroll more Hispanic college students, and as Paredes said, "We count all students who go to college," whether they're documented or not.
Paredes said the law is intended to assist undocumented immigrants who unknowingly broke the law when their families brought them to Texas as youngsters. Those who take advantage of the law's benefits typically are high-achieving students and must prove they are taking steps to become legal citizens, he said.
All these students want is to become contributing members of their adopted society, said Julieta Garibay, president of Jóvenes Inmigrantes Por Un Futuro Mejor — Young Immigrants for a Better Future at the University of Texas at Austin.
Garibay just graduated from UT with a nursing degree, something she never could have afforded without the immigrant tuition law.
"We love this country," said Garibay, 25. "We're as American as anyone else here. We're all about doing our part to make this country better. It wasn't our choice to come here, but we're trying to make the best out of it."
Richard Samp, chief counsel for the Washington Legal Foundation, said though he's sympathetic to the plight of undocumented students, the matter is about upholding federal law and encouraging legal behavior.
"We're a nation of immigrants, but there needs to be some limits, and we need to show we're serious about enforcing our laws," Samp said.
The foundation filed its complaint earlier this month after a similar effort was struck down in July by a federal judge in Kansas, which along with California, New York, Utah, Illinois, Washington and Oklahoma also has similar immigrant tuition laws.
The Homeland Security Department said it received the complaint about Texas from the Washington Legal Foundation and was reviewing it. But a department official, who requested anonymity, went further, noting that the department may not act on the request because the foundation has not exhausted all other legal avenues.
One judge may have ruled against the group in Kansas, but the issue has not yet been raised in Texas courts, the official said. And it remains unclear whether Homeland Security has jurisdiction over this matter, the official said.
The law doesn't just benefit undocumented students. Asaia Palacios, 21, legally lives in San Antonio because her father, who works for the Institute of Mexico, has a visa. She and her family have lived here since she was 5.
Palacios was a top 10 percent graduate from Marshall High School in 2002 and will graduate from UT-Austin in the spring. She's grateful for the Texas law, which made a college education financially feasible.
"It saddens me," she said of the complaint. "They don't understand a lot of students here have grown up here and consider this their home. We're part of what America is."
Like Palacios, Delgado, the SAC student, couldn't afford to go to college if he had to pay out-of-state fees. As it is, money already is tight.
On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, he works for a construction company; much of his paycheck is sent home to help his parents. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he catches a 5:30 a.m. bus to be on campus in time for his 6:35 a.m. English class.
It's not easy, he said. He misses his parents, who he has only seen a handful of times since he moved from Monterrey, but the lure of a college education — and a better life — keeps him in Texas and in school. He said he wants to be a computer programmer.
"I always wanted to be somebody," he said. "I don't want to work in the sun for the rest of my life."
"We are not rewarding illegals, we are educating Texas residents in order for them to better contribute to our economy and society. We aren't doing it for "them" we are doing it for "us".
If people from Michigan and Illinois don't like it that's too bad. They can stay in Michigan and Illinois and let those states pay for their education."
bayourod is nothing but an agitator. A) We sure as hell are rewarding illegals (else why would they come here?). B) Doing theings "for them" is not doing things "for us", unless you believe we should do something for the 2 billion people who would gladly invade here to get out of the cesspools they live in.
Boatourod must work for the Bush administration, there is no other explanation.
Wrong again. They accept federal funds. Where do you think these funds come from?
Beat me to it!
Thank you, no I did not know. My mother immigrated to this country over 50 years ago, LEGALLY, and if you want to hear support for tightening our borders, etc , you should listen to her. She makes the minutemen sound all touchy-feely.
You are welcome. Coincidentally, my mother, who was born in Italy, also immigrated to the United States about 50 years ago, and she did so legally. I can't understand why any American would support illegal immigration.
There I fixed it. This is an issue that really burns me up, since the UC system, tried to do that to me, years ago even though I was a California Resident.
hi, rod.
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