Utterly Meaningless

My take (and I live in Houston) is that if they live here, we want them to be better citizens, it’s worth the investment. If they get a degree and then go back home, we still win (think of the old days when we’d send our kids to Europe for school to acquire the necessary polish, culture, and acquaintance).

My sister-in-law, a first-generation Mexican who lives in majority-Hispanic San Antonio and whose mother still doesn’t speak English, disagrees with me on this and believes that illegals should all be shipped back, kids and all, until they figure out how to make it in legally. Go figure.

Well after paying for 5 years of out of state college tuition at 3x the in state rate… yeah I do have a problem w/ illegals getting in the in state rate.
Yes it’s a choice & we could have sent our son to an in state school but DE is very small as you know & his opportunities to live on campus or away from home in state are limited too. UD is not known for it’s embracing of Delaware students that were educated in the public school system. UD is a private college in enrollment & a state school when it collects it’s share of state funds. Nice loophole!
UD actually has more out of state students than in state enrollment.

If American born students have to meet state residency requirements to get in state education rates why should illegals get a straight through pass to cheaper tuition? After all college education is not an entitlement to all. Many Americans would like to attend college & can’t afford it.

I think to educate illegals from K-12 is more than generous. Is it their fault they were brought here illegally by their parents? No, but I don’t see why taxpayers now should subsidize their higher education too.

By the time they hit college age they are now adults. They should be offered a special program to help them on the path to legal residency & the opportunity to become citizens.

I am sorry but the line needs to be drawn somewhere as I don’t see unlimited state & federal funds for college & never rising tuition rates for anybody legal or illegal on the horizon anytime soon.

Is it their fault they were brought here illegally by their parents? No, but I don’t see why taxpayers now should subsidize their higher education too.

Sins of the father, huh?

And, BTW, the NC state constitution has a fair bit to say about education:

ARTICLE IX — EDUCATION

Section 1. Education encouraged.

Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools, libraries, and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.

Sec. 9. Benefits of public institutions of higher education.

The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of The University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense.

I don’t see anywhere that the constitution differentiates between people who were born here or who came here.

I think Traci and Speedwell’s sister-in-law both have reasonable and understandable views of what’s not fair in this policy — but then the answer surely (if we’re as smart as we all think we are here) is to do better, not worse! 🙂

I did not say that illegals should not be able to attend college & or attend public schools for lower grades in any state. I don’t have a problem with providing services to children brought here illegally under the age of 18.

What I did say is that they shouldn’t be allowed to go college at a discounted rate. A benefit not an entitlement.

When they get to adulthood there should be a program to help them gain legal status or citizenship as they are most likely already in some education program & most likely now more American than their Native Country.
If something like that doesn’t exist I would rather see “money$” spent on providing legal status rather than subsidizing their continued education.
As in reality for them no matter what higher degree they hold they can’t stay & “honestly”work in this country. The chance to be free & legal vs only the chance for higher ed —-well it is clear which is the more valuable gift. Once legal they can STILL go to COLLEGE ( I would say that IS DOING BETTER as to speak to JJ’s Note)

Would they be likely to go back to their country of origin & enroll in college there or higher employment?- I don’t know- I don’t care they always have had that option. They are NOW adults when they are college age.

Maybe the fair thing for everyone that instate & outstate rates for all colleges should then be abolished in favor of setting some reasonable rate for ALL somewhere in the middle of the 2 current tuition rates. or
Does NC pay for the higher education of its students that go out of state?????? If not those LEGAL RESIDENTS ARE BEING DENIED THEIR ARTICLE IX SEC 9 RIGHTS….. Who is now to judge what ” as far as practicable” means????????????
Maybe NC set up a some exchange program for students from other states we’ll swap education FREE for those students wanting come & in for those students wanting to go out. Then who goes first if there is not an equal match up in students to exchange????
Yeah that judgment line can get really messy when in saying yes you still say no to some>

And before ya’ll get all about how much illegals contribute to the local/state/national economy so they should get the taxpayer benefits.
My son & his roommate ( both from DE) also worked & paid taxes both sales & income in the state that they were going to college. They also carried that State’s drivers license & car registration, insurance etc…. & still were not able to qualify for in state tuition rates.
His roommate is still working on a double major of Math & Physics to become a teacher is still paying out of state rates while he is totally supporting himself at 22 while working a manual labor job full time loading boxes for UPS. Because is still not yet 24 yrs old he is tied by FASA to his parents DE income( even though they haven’t financially supported him since he turned 18) so even w/ stellar grades he doesn’t qualify for grants or scholarship money.

Dear son actually is now staying and working in AZ after graduation and even though he desires to continue to grad school at his former alma mater must now completely wait one year or more while working & living in the state to “hopefully” get discounted tuition there for Grad school.

BAD ME I SHOULD HAVE JUST SMUGGLED HIM OVER THE STATE BORDER WHILE HE WAS STILL A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR & maybe we’d still have the extra money we spent on tuition. Sins of he mother maybe that I did not????????????

OH & before you chide me on greed or money … you don’t know just what good I could/would have done w/ it rather than spend it selfishly on my own child. We happen to be avid supporters of the ARTS, & other local charities but when my purse runs empty I must cut back somewhere. But at least the money would still be mine w/ the freedom to decide where to give or spend it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If the above viewpoint makes me a Xenophobe than so be it. I will wear the T-shirt proudly. For around here last time I checked “WE IN THIS FAMILY” were working hard to take care of our own w/out handouts from the government and all the awhile watching that government spend foolishly what we do send in taxes.

If the STATE & FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS WERE MY OWN CHILDREN I WOULD SWIFTLY KICK THEM IN THE ASS & DISOWN THEM FOR THEIR LACK OF RESPECT & STEWARDSHIP IN THE GIFTS I PROVIDE. But NO like those close relatives that always can’t seem to manage their personal finances I still give to contribute to the well being of their offspring’s needs. I will provide care for their children when the don’t have the money knowing it won’t be repaid for when they do get a few bucks they will spend on a family vacation that we haven’t taken in years.

Please forgive the typos & misspellings. I am not at my best w/ typing & grammar when I am too aggravated to see straight and the first time I wrote this the internet blew it away to “page not found” when I went to post.