long time ago i spent quite a lot of time in the Charlotte area... this is NOT the Carolina i knew.
Posted on 08/13/2008 6:00:34 PM PDT by BGHater
The state community college system will discuss at its monthly meetings this week whether to allow illegal immigrants into degree programs.
The decision to revisit the contentious issue comes after federal Homeland Security officials told the state Attorney General’s Office in July that no federal law bars illegal immigrants from pursuing degrees. The discussions will be held during the Thursday and Friday sessions of the community colleges’ board in Raleigh, spokeswoman Audrey Bailey said.
Tony Asion, director of the Raleigh-based Hispanic advocacy group El Pueblo, expressed excitement over the decision to reopen discussion on the issue.
“This is good for everyone in the state,” Asion said. “Not just Hispanics.”
Community college officials had been waiting since May for federal guidance. In May, system President Scott Rauls, acting on a state attorney’s office legal assessment, barred local colleges from accepting illegal immigrants in degree programs until clarification from the federal level came.
On July 21, Homeland Security officials responded.
“Please note that admission to public post-secondary educational institutions is not one of the benefits regulated by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996,” wrote Jim Pendergraph, an official of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Therefore, the individual states must decide for themselves whether or not to admit illegal aliens into their public post-secondary institutions.”
The decision represents a vindication of sorts for FTCC lawyer David Sullivan who rendered legal advice in November that illegal immigrants should be admitted. The advice spurred system officials to open degree programs to illegal immigrants. That call has caused Sullivan and his family to face intense scrutiny and even death threats, he said.
Still, Sullivan said he doesn’t regret the decision, which he said was based on “good, solid legal reasoning.”
“It was ugly for a while. This is such a hot political issue,” Sullivan said. “But in the position I serve, I can’t make decisions on the politics of it. I have to base my work on whether it is legal or not.”
FTCC President Larry Keen said that whatever decision is made this week, FTCC is ready to comply with it.
“I’m looking forward to the state board taking this up and resolving it once and for all,” Keen said.
Out of approximately 297,000 degree-seeking students in the community college system, only 112 are illegal immigrants. As of May, there were none at FTCC, officials said.
As long as “the colleges” pick up the tab and don’t try to make the taxpayers pay the bill, I guess it’s okay. I know all these morons at “the college” wouldn’t mind giving up their salaries to pay the tuition for their illegals.
What part of ***illegal*** don’t they understand?
Schools who do this should loose ALL government funding.
Just beause an illegal alien forgot to get his "student visa" doesn't mean he or she should be allowed to get away with breaking the rule that a visa is required.
No school administration would be remiss in demanding that any foreign student demonstrate that he has a student visa.
There’s no such critter as an “illegal immigrant” anyway. You can legally be a “visitor” or an “immigrant”.
NC going to the dogs.Syphilis has got to be running rampant in the colleges.
illegal alien works for me.
long time ago i spent quite a lot of time in the Charlotte area... this is NOT the Carolina i knew.
I wasn't aware that a taxpayer supported institution could discuss the Federal Felony known as "aiding and abetting".
The usual legal term for that is "Conspiracy".
Lots of people go to jail for it. Ask the Mafia.
NC is a ruined dump. 150 years of Democrat dominance has rotted it to the core. Easy on illegals; high taxes; gang violence and gangbangers; sleazy, corrupt elected Democrat officials. It will soon be a blue state all the way around if it isn’t already.
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