We ALL pay for illegal immigration through federal programs like Medicaid. The federal government pays for roughly half and the states pay for half. I live in New York. We also have in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. New Yorkers pay for the fact that there are illegals in Texas. Texas pays for the fact that there are illegals in New York. All states should pay for their own illegals that they're stuck with, but that's not how it works. All states SHOULD have a vested interest in reducing their population of illegal immigrants. If you eliminate illegals' access to programs like Medicaid, then the argument is weakened a bit, but not a huge amount, because their children are still eligible for Medicaid, food stamps, etc. The federal government should stop meddling in state affairs and let states pass heavy fines on employers that hire them. Then the federal government should eliminate birthright citizenship for illegals. The problem then goes away. 80% of the illegals will leave this country in 5 years, or will go to the states that have sanctuary cities and no laws like the ones I mentioned.
I understand what you're saying about how the residents of Texas have decided that illegals should educated on the taxpayer dime, but what's the point of even allowing them entry since no respectable company requiring a degree for a position will end up hiring them? Once they graduate with their bachelor's degree, they'll be over-qualified for the low-wage positions that they will occupy. UNLESS, unless, unless, this state funding of in-state tuition for illegals is a tacit admission that the feds are going to have another amnesty program where illegals will be able to put their state-subsidized degrees to use in the greater labor market.
It is not the state’s job to round up illegal immigrants and deport them. That responsibility is constitutionally assigned to the federal government, and no state can deport people.
So to the degree you in one state pay for illegals in another state, the fact that they are in the state is the federal government’s fault. And the fact that you have to pay illegal’s medicare and medicaid is also the federal government’s fault. And the fact you have to educate them in public schools is the federal government’s fault (well, the courts, but same thing).
A state granting in-state tuition to illegals does not cost any state but the state that does it. They are state schools, and the state runs them and pays for them, and if they want to allow illegals to attend and pay cheap rates, it is the taxpayers of that state who bear the burden.
Just as if a state wants to give out more welfare, or run more programs for the unemployed, that’s their business, or should be. What a state decides to do with it’s money is up to the residents of the state.
And no matter who we elect, and how much we complain, there will be a point, somewhere down the road, where children of illegals who grew up here will end up getting legal residence of some sort (at best, we can hope for a non-citizen version where they have to apply and wait in line. When you put to the american people the question “If a child has spent his entire formative live in the united states, and has no knowledge or connection to his “country of origin”, and that child has attended and graduated our schools, and attended and graduated our colleges, and is trained to be an effective member of society, should we deport them, or give them green cards?”, the overwhelming majority is going to be for letting them stay.
People do NOT associate the problem of illegals with kids who speak english, are ingrained into our culture, and have college degrees. It won’t be a “dream act”, but there will be allowances. This isn’t going to happen soon, but no amount of you and I complaining is going to stop it.
I do agree with you that allowing them to attend college at all, much less more cheaply, is simply moving the problem down the road, because as you said how would they get a job?
Except I guess if the do well, and have a useful degree, and then simply go back home and apply for a visa, they will probably get a work visa through one of our skilled worker immigration programs.