Virginia Governor Pulls Off Slick Symbolic Move vs. Illegal Aliens


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By David North on July 1, 2022



As a Democrat, and thus no fan of my state’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, I must say that he pulled off a slick and appropriate budgetary move the other day, taking $10 million from illegal alien college students and giving it to Virginia’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Did the governor take tax money from the state treasury to help the HBCUs? No, he took it from the illegals.

Are there voters among the illegals? No.

Are there voters at the HBCUs? Yes, lots of them.

Did he manage to retain party unity among the GOP on this issue, while splitting the Democrats (in the state Senate)? Yes.

Did the governor raise Virginia’s (unreasonably low) marginal income tax rates on the rich to fund the HBCUs? Absolutely not, but they got the extra money anyway.
The governor encouraged his supporters in the legislature to pass an amendment to the state’s budget that took $10 million that had been previously allocated for scholarships for illegal aliens at state institutions and transferred the same sum to the state’s five HBCUs.

According to the Washington Post report, Youngkin got the transfer through the GOP-controlled lower house on a straight party-line vote, and then peeled away two state senators (both with large Black constituencies) from the slim Democratic majority in the upper house.

This was all symbolism, of course; mildly helpful, but mainly symbolism.

If the governor really wants to discourage illegal immigration, he should tackle the state driver’s license system, which I just went through on a renewal basis.

Currently it issues two classes of these licenses, one for citizens who want a document that can be used to board airplanes, and another that will not do that but will allow the holder to legally drive a car. In my state there is no current requirement that one be a legal resident to get a driver’s license.

If illegals could not drive legally in the state, they might leave it.


https://cis.org/North/Virginia-Gover...Illegal-Aliens