Thread: Tom Tancredo: Tuition plan is illegal

Tom Tancredo: Tuition plan is illegal

By Tom Tancredo
Posted: 03/28/2009 12:30:00 AM MDT
Updated: 03/28/2009 05:54:43 AM MDT


The usual suspects in the media and open borders crowd are beside themselves because some Democrats in the legislature will not support Sen. Chris Romer's bill to give in-state college tuition rates to illegal aliens.

Apparently, some Democrats are actually listening to their constituents.

The bill now sits in the state Senate Appropriations Committee, where indications are it will fail on a 5-5 tie. I can only imagine the pressure that will be brought to bear on that pivotal Democrat to send the bill to the floor.

The bill's proponents have hardly acknowledged, much less accommodated, the fact there is a federal law prohibiting such benefits. The law says if a state offers in-state tuition to illegal aliens, it must offer the same tuition to all student applicants regardless of residence. There will be lawsuits galore if the bill is enacted.

We are told endlessly that "we shouldn't punish the children for what their parents did" in bringing them here unlawfully. This is an emotional argument, not an intellectual one, and it does appeal to our heartstrings. Yet the opposite argument has even more weight when you think of the issue from a public cost-benefit perspective. If parents are doing this for the benefit of their children, which is undeniably the case, removing that benefit will remove one of the incentives for entering our country illegally.

Proponents say "it won't cost taxpayers anything" to "equalize tuition rates." That is clearly not the case.

Sensible legislators are looking for ways to turn off the existing magnets that attract illegal aliens to the state, not add new ones. In 2006, Gov. Bill Owens called a special session of the legislature to deal with problems associated with illegal aliens. One of the laws passed was House Bill 1017, aimed at employers who hire illegal workers. But three years later, not one employer has been fined by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. If all Colorado employers are in compliance with HB 1017, then either Colorado has no illegal workers or the law is an empty gesture that ought to be repealed.

Of course, the other alternative is for that state agency to take its mandate seriously and audit employers in industries most likely to be using illegal workers instead of the random audits now performed. But that would take far more leadership from the governor's office than has been demonstrated. Citizens are still waiting for legislative proposals from Gov. Bill Ritter based on the December recommendations of his "Immigration Working Group."

It is indeed a tragedy that thousands of adults chose to come to Colorado unlawfully and bring their children with them. They are to blame for their children's unfortunate circumstance, not the citizens and taxpayers of Colorado.

Under all federal guest-worker programs, workers are not allowed to bring their children, and any new guest worker program aimed at filling alleged gaps in our labor force would have the same provisions. So why enact a state law that makes a mockery of such restrictions?

All the north-south port-of-entry gates are open for persons in Colorado unlawfully who want to do the right thing and return home. They can join millions of others waiting for their Legal Permanent Resident application to be approved so they can become lawful immigrants.

Few parents or young adults will choose to do that. That does not change the fact that it would be folly to add new inducements to Colorado's already too-generous plate of benefits.

Tom Tancredo of Littleton is a former U.S. congressman.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12015742

And North Carolina is one of those magnets now. The illegal population has been growing here in leaps and bounds. The sickening thing is,the law makers know this and in many cases are afraid to put down the law. Sure wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of the illegals or as in some articles say:the Hispanic Communities...You know what ...SCREW THEM! they broke the laws coming here illegally so they are CRIMINALS. And what do we do with criminals? Where do we put criminals?

Giving these special benefits only rewards these illegals and ATTRACTS MORE OF THEM!
STOP the benefits! STOP the pandering! STOP the jobs! STOP the employers! STOP the heart strings! STOP the border crossings! ENFORCE OUR LAWS! SECURE THE BORDERS!