Posted on 02/14/2007 12:41:46 PM PST by Graybeard58
HARTFORD -- Victoria Perez traveled to the state Capitol Tuesday to ask for a future.
Perez, a senior at New Haven's Wilbur Cross High School, aspires to go to college next year to prepare for a career in criminal justice. But she has no idea how she'll foot the bill.
The problem: She's in the United States illegally, and therefore doesn't qualify for in-state tuition rates at Connecticut's public colleges and universities. Out-of-state tuition costs three times as much.
To Perez, a native Mexican brought to the United States at 3 years old, that simply isn't fair.
"We're all created equal. I mean, we're all humans," the soft-spoken 18-year-old said.
Perez and dozens of immigrant-rights activists gathered in Hartford on Tuesday to support a bill to change that policy and extend in-state tuition rates to all residents, regardless of immigration status, at the University of Connecticut, community colleges and other public schools.
"There is no group as disenfranchised in the education system as undocumented students," said Rep. Felipe Reinoso, D-Hartford, a sponsor of the measure.
Ten other states have passed similar laws.
Those favoring the idea list numerous advantages, from improving the quality of the state's work force to extending basic decency to ambitious young people who, in many cases, did not personally violate the law.
"These kids were brought here, sometimes without any choice or against their will," Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said.
Supporters also note that federal student aid is off-limits to illegal immigrants.
The bill has no formal cost estimate, though it's certain to impact taxpayers, who subsidize in-state seats at public colleges. Some supporters estimate no more than 250 students would take advantage of the discount each year.
Regardless, Blumenthal said, the price would be fully justified, calling it "an investment that will repay itself many times over."
The idea also faces plenty of opponents, and a similar bill was narrowly defeated by the legislature two years ago. Since then, the issue has become far more polarized as immigration has accelerated.
About 11 percent of Connecticut's population was foreign-born in 2000, according to the U.S. Census, up from 8.5 percent in 1990, a difference of about 91,000 people.
During Tuesday's hearing before the higher education committee, Sen. Dan Debicella, R-Shelton, called the bill "a massive subsidy" for illegal immigrants.
"If someone has not followed the laws of the U.S. to become a citizen, why do they deserve to get the same level of tuition as legal residents?" Debicella asked.
"This seems to reward behavior that we seek to deter," the senator said.
Rep. Pamela Z. Sawyer, R-Bolton, worried the measure could hurt the state's aspiring college students by heightening the competition for admission. Many community college students are single mothers struggling to make ends meet, she said.
"There are a lot of pressures on education dollars currently in the state of Connecticut," Sawyer said.
Though several religious and civil liberties groups support the measure, it's certain to face opposition from critics of illegal immigration. Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Control, a group based in Darien, mobilized significant opposition to the idea when it last faced a vote in 2005.
Rep. Selim Noujaim, R-74th District, a member of the higher education committee, said he would support the bill only for undocumented students who were brought to the United States by their parents.
"If they entered the country illegally, I would not want any part of it," said Noujaim, who was born in Lebanon and moved to the U.S. legally in 1971.
Nadia Minor, one supporter of the bill, counts herself among the lucky.
A Mexican and a cousin of Victoria Perez, she was brought to the United States at 7 years old. Though the 20-year-old graduated in the top 5 percent of her New Haven high school class, she said, she expected her illegal status to block her from college. She didn't even apply.
But Perez eventually won legal residency, thanks to her mother's native-born husband, and now attends Central Connecticut State University. She wants her cousin and her friends to have the same opportunity.
"I feel like we're paying for mistakes we didn't make," said Minor, who hopes to attend law school. "We didn't choose to come here."
Oh, that's a great idea... I'll do the same. Wow, I can't believe how many FReepers have that bad lot of peanut butter... and some have gotten sick. :-(
"These illegals don't think they are illegal. None of them do!"
President Bush was on TV yesterday using that hoary old expression: ". . . doing the jobs Americans won't do" again, so why should they acknowledge their illegal status when our chief law enforcement officer gives them a `wink-and-a-nod'?
Looking at this logically, good jobs went south after NAFTA. Those Mexicans who couldn't get one of those jobs came north to take remaining non-manufacturing jobs away from Americans. These "undocumented workers" will need managers and supervisors who speak their lingo, so their anchor-children will have to be educated, and at public expense.
But don't ask for the same government generosity for your own children, unless they're bi-lingual.
Oh, and in 20 years, `rinse-and-repeat'. At least that's the strategery . . . .
I want a tuition break too. While we are at it, why doesn't everyone get a college education for NOTHING!!!
All I've ever wanted was a free pony.
It took me a while but I finally realized that I am not a free pony receiver, I'm the one who provides the free ponies to others.
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