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  1. #1
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    NE Bill Would Keep Illegals From Getting In State Tuition

    Bill would keep undocumented students from getting in-state tuition
    StoryDiscussionBy JoANNE YOUNG / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 8:40 pm | (5) Comments

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    Sen. Charlie Janssen .
    ..Related Stories
    Related: Pregnant women who are illegal immigrants no longer eligible for Medicaid
    State Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont says the issue of in-state tuition for undocumented students is black and white.

    He contends that Nebraska's Dream Act violates federal law that says no benefits -- like in-state tuition -- can be given to illegal immigrants that are not offered to U.S. citizens.

    On Wednesday Janssen introduced a bill (LB1001) that would keep undocumented students from qualifying for in-state tuition.

    Former Lincoln Sen. DiAnna Schimek, who led the charge on getting the Dream Act passed in 2006, says it doesn't violate federal law.

    The Utah attorney general in 2006 issued an opinion stating that state's Dream Act was valid and permissible. And the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver dismissed a legal challenge of a similar law in Kansas.

    Schimek said that in crafting the Nebraska law, proponents of the Dream Act had studied carefully the briefs written on the issue, including the Utah opinion.

    Nebraska's law is based on graduation from a Nebraska high school after living here three years. The same rule could apply to any student who moves here from another state, she said.

    "I believe it is defensible. The law speaks for itself."

    In 2008, however, a California appeals court said eligibility requirements in that state's law of high school attendance and graduation were a de facto residency requirement and in violation of federal law.

    Schimek said members of Nebraska's P-16 Committee, which Gov. Dave Heineman now heads, supported the bill in 2006. Committee members included NU President J.B. Milliken, Commissioner of Education Doug Christensen and other education officials.

    They said in 2006 the Latino population was the fastest growing in the state and was expected to make up 20 percent of K-12 enrollment within a decade.

    Putting up barriers, they said, impedes Nebraska's efforts to increase its college-going rate and to improve the quality of the workforce. Allowing those students in-state tuition is in the best interest of the state, they said.

    Forty-three undocumented students are taking advantage of the Nebraska Dream Act. There are 35 in the University of Nebraska system (17 at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, three at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and 15 at the University of Nebraska at Kearney). Eight students are at community colleges. No undocumented students attend state colleges using the law.

    Nine states besides Nebraska have a Dream Act, including Kansas, Texas and New Mexico.

    When the Legislature passed the Dream Act in 2006 with 27 votes, Heineman vetoed it. The bill then got 30 votes to override the veto.

    Janssen believes senators erred in passing the law. Fourteen other senators have signaled support for his bill by signing on to it.

    People so often talk about how the federal government is not doing enough on the immigration issue, he said. But it has done something in this case, and Nebraska has chosen to ignore it.

    "We can't have our cake and eat it, too," he said.

    Janssen's bill would not apply to any undocumented student in college as of September 2010, or any current high school senior.

    "That's put in there to get votes on the floor," Janssen said.

    If someone is in college or about to go to college, it could be more palatable to some senators to not pull the allowance of in-state tuition from them, he said.

    Personally, he would roll it back all at once, he said.

    "I think it's time for people in Nebraska to speak out," he said. "Illegal is illegal."

    Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.

    http://www.journalstar.com/news/local/g ... 03286.html

    You can comment here:

    http://www.journalstar.com/news/local/g ... e=comments

  2. #2
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    Looks like the OBL has found this already. My next task is to register on this site. Comments so far:

    granny said on: January 20, 2010, 10:37 pm
    illegal IS illegal. What a concept. If we begin to make exceptions then I say we make exceptions for ALL illegal acts.
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    What illegal acts did these students commit? They were brought here as infants and young children by their parents, graduated from High School here, why should they not be allowed in state tuition rates?
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    Left Brain said on: January 20, 2010, 10:25 pm
    John,
    This is to correct one of the rewards the liberals has given illegals for breaking the law. Why should an legal Iowa resident be pay more when we give illegals a discount???


    CedricSa said on: January 20, 2010, 10:18 pm
    Awww jeez-not this crap again.

    Student Visa holders CHOOSE to come to school in the US, and CHOOSE to pay all the extra tuition that comes with it (charged by the states, by the way). Each state has their own residency requirements (that 'legal US resident' part the Jansen brings up, but he is mis-interpreting the Federal law-it doesn't over-ride a State's ability to set their own residency requirements), and those residency requirements say NOTHING about one's legality as a US Citizen to qualify for STATE residency for In-State Tuition, either. In any case this affects what, 30 kids, occupying spots that would be emptied when your kids drops out to party instead. UNL has to overenroll every term and they still don't break even. Since part of the deal is that they have to become citizens anyway it's not like it is without it's stipulations. Isn't that what you wanted? That they not be illegal anymore?
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    shotsfired said on: January 20, 2010, 10:17 pm
    And how many children of immigrants were arrested for selling drugs in the dorms today? Zero? How many "legal" students were arrested for selling drugs in the dorms today? Two? I'll take the children of immigrants over the drug dealing trash that constitute "legal" students.
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    John Andrews said on: January 20, 2010, 10:03 pm
    It would be a breath of fresh air if Senator Janssen would propose legislation that would help Nebraska instead of attacking immigrants. Why does he want to penalize children of illegal immigrants who did not break the law--their parents did. Allowing these students in-state tuition will not cost the state any money; it only increases the number of people who have a post-secondary education that can only help our state.
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    Guess what said on: January 20, 2010, 9:59 pm
    Gee - so somebody else understands - illegal IS illegal. What a concept. If we begin to make exceptions then I say we make exceptions for ALL illegal acts. After all, if we are saying well illegal ISN'T really illegal, then we should excuse ALL illegal acts.

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    Senior Member miguelina's Avatar
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    Forty-three undocumented students are taking advantage of the Nebraska Dream Act. There are 35 in the University of Nebraska system (17 at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, three at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and 15 at the University of Nebraska at Kearney). Eight students are at community colleges. No undocumented students attend state colleges using the law.
    And they claim they have no way of "tracking" who is an illegal alien. Yeahhh right.
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)
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    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

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    Senior Member SusanSmithNAG's Avatar
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    DeJAVu

    I will tell you this. Nebraskans Advisory Group members have been protesting, rallying, giving testimony, providing printed material, showing up at illegal alien support group events to oppose them, participating on debate "discussion" panels for the past three years.......it's the only reason LB403 even got passed. The first time I gave testimony at a public hearing in Lincoln and I used the term "illegal alien", I thought the committee members were going to fall off their chairs.......and we've been "steady as she goes" ever since.....then a Fremont city councilmember introduced an Illegal Alien Ordinance and the firecrackers really started popping.....I think that's when our senators got serious about passing LB 403. Of course, it helped that we passed a "term-limit" law, that got rid of about 16 ultra liberal senators.

    I just don't want ANYONE to think that Nebraskans are just sitting idly by while Illegal Aliens run rampant in our state. We've been hard at it and other grassroot organizations have helped as well.

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