Replies

In November 1994, California voters passed Proposition 187, the landmark ballot initiative that denied most social services to illegal immigrants. Mariana R. Pfaelzer of the U.S. District 9th Circuit Appellate Court ruled that most parts of Proposition 187 were unconstitutional, saying that immigration is a federal issue, not a state issue, and that the federal government had sole and exclusive authority over immigration law and policy, and all matters relating to immigration.

If it is indeed true that immigration, and any issues related to immigration, is solely a federal issue, then how can it be that some states are granting special benefits to illegal immigrants. Included among these benefits are the granting of in-state college tuition fees to high school graduates who are illegal immigrants, and the granting of driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

If the provisions in Proposition 187 were held to be unconstitutional because immigration, and issues related to immigration, is a federal issue and comes under the sole authority of the federal government, shouldn't the granting of in-state college tuition fees and driver's licenses to illegal immigrants by the states also be considered unconstitutional for the very same reason?

In other words, if it is illegal for a state to deny benefits to illegal immigrants because immigration comes under the federal government's sole authority, why should it be legal for a state to grant benefits to illegal immigrants if immigration comes under the federal government's sole authority?

The intent of the bill was to allow undocumented immigrant students to pay in-state tuition if they graduate from a public or private high school in this state or receive an equivalent degree. They must have resided in Nebraska for at least three years with a parent or guardian...

And how are you going to ascertain if these scoff-laws have resided for at least 3 years?Ask them?

State law already provides for their admittance.

You're not lawfully here,but...

Our own self-interested need for qualified human capital...

The legislator's view of "the people"

The students targeted by this bill identify themselves as American...

Too bad for them our immigration laws don't agree.

According to a 1997 report by the American Civil Liberties Union, the undocumented immigrants generate significantly more in taxes paid than they cost in services

The ACLU,huh?Thought I smelled them.Maybe we should make all US citizens illegal aliens.Maybe the deficits would disappear.

...these undocumented immigrants...

I think he means people who are here unlawfully.

How can we say no to the children who are in this country though no fault of their own?

I suspected that this might be all about the children.We might start by insisting that their parents abide by our laws.

Many undocumented immigrants enter the United States legally with student, tourist, business or some other temporary visa and become "illegal" when they remain in the country after their visas have expired...

I love the quotes around "illegal." Obviously the writer does not believe they're really "illegal." HELLO? They chose to remain here after their visas expired, (or their parents did, in the case of young students.) They knew from the get-go that the visas were temporary. They could have tried to get the visas renewed, or they could have gone home. Nobody forced them to stay here.