Thread: AZ-Illegal immigrants: Unquenched thirst for knowledge

Illegal immigrants: Unquenched thirst for knowledge

Arizona Central
August 7, 2009

Children who are brought into the country illegally, who grow up without ties to any country but the United States shouldn't have to suffer the consequences of decisions they could not control.

And yet...

More than two years after Arizona voters passed a law denying in-state college tuition and other state-funded benefits to illegal immigrants, thousands of people are still applying for those services and being turned away, reports The Associated Press.

Supporters of the law say the numbers are evidence that the measure is working, saving money that the state shouldn't be paying to educate people who came here illegally. Opponents say the numbers show thousands of bright young people are being denied the opportunity to improve their lives through education and contribute to society.
...
More than 3,400 community college students and nearly 300 university students paid nonresident tuition because they couldn't prove they were in the country legally. Thousands more university students never had their immigration status checked because they didn't seek in-state tuition or state-funded financial aid.

It isn't right to make it harder for those young adults to receive an education -- especially when they have a thirst for knowledge, a desire to become professionals and earn a good living, to be productive members of society.

It defies logic -- but many people would rather see those children, now eager young adults who have no where else to go and know no other life, remain uneducated and without prospects.

What do they think those young adults will do? Pack up their bags and leave the United States? And go where?

Imagine ... almost 4,000 Arizona college students willing and able to pay higher tuition rates becaue they can't produce proof they are legal residents. Think about the thousands others who wish they could get an education, who worked hard during high school to earn scholarships, but now find the college tuition a prohibitive cost. Or those who are afraid to even seek an education because they don't want to draw attention to themselves or their families.

The state of our education is sad. Budgets everywhere are tangled in red. And instead of boosting the knowledge base -- and knowledge is key to a healthy community and economy -- Arizona only continues to hurt itself.

Legal or not, students shut out of an education today are still going to become tomorrow's adults. Once eager to learn, likely now frustrated at the lack of opportunities, unsatisfied and uneducated. That does nothing to help Arizona stand in line for economic opportunities.

In that AP story, State Treasurer Dean Martin, a state senator in 2006 who pushed to get that measure (Proposition 300) on the ballot, said: "When we're talking about college students, we're not talking about children anymore. At this point, you are responsible for following the law yourself."

Again: "At this point, you are responsible for following the law yourself."

Exactly. When they were children, they were not responsible for the actions of their parents. And since, as adults, they themselves committed no crime ... why are they being penalized?

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/M ... moor/59747

Imagine ... almost 4,000 Arizona college students willing and able to pay higher tuition rates becaue they can't produce proof they are legal residents. Think about the thousands others who wish they could get an education, who worked hard during high school to earn scholarships, but now find the college tuition a prohibitive cost. Or those who are afraid to even seek an education because they don't want to draw attention to themselves or their families.

Hogwash! If their "thirst for knowledge" is so acute, they can PAY for it, just like millions of American students do! I'm sick and tired of the whining by these illegal alien lovers! I've never read such drivel about LEGAL students.

There are milions if American students who could not even afford in-state tuiton and have not gone to college. Do these morons write about what happens to them? Of course not.

As far as I'm concerned, I could care less what illegal aliens "students" do with their lives, I REFUSE to pay for them!

Illegal immigrants spend millions extra on tuition
by Jonathan J. Cooper - Aug. 9, 2009 10:19 AM

PHOENIX - More than two years after Arizona voters passed a law denying in-state college tuition and other state-funded benefits to illegal immigrants, thousands of people are still applying for those services and being turned away.

Supporters of the law say the numbers are evidence that the measure is working, saving money that the state shouldn't be paying to educate people who came here illegally. Opponents say the numbers show thousands of bright young people are being denied the opportunity to improve their lives through education and contribute to society.

The law, known as Proposition 300, was approved in 2006 by more than 70 percent of Arizona voters. It requires state agencies to verify the immigration status of applicants for state-funded services such as child care and adult education, along with in-state tuition and financial aid for college students.
Reports submitted to the Legislature show that during the first six months of 2009, 71 percent of the 485 applicants for family literacy courses were denied benefits because they couldn't prove legal immigration status. The courses are aimed at teaching parents without high school diplomas, and their young children.

Thirty-two people were denied state-assisted child care, according to the reports.

More than 3,400 community college students and nearly 300 university students paid nonresident tuition because they couldn't prove they were in the country legally. Thousands more university students never had their immigration status checked because they didn't seek in-state tuition or state-funded financial aid.

Because nonresident students pay more than the actual cost of providing their education, Arizona's colleges and universities actually profited from illegal immigrant students.

The millions of dollars in savings has freed up money for programs for legal residents, said State Treasurer Dean Martin, who as a state senator in 2006 sponsored the legislation referring Proposition 300 to the ballot.

"The state was literally subsidizing illegal behavior," Martin said.

Although state agencies are required to report biannually how many people have been denied services under the law, calculating governments' actual cost savings is difficult.

At Arizona community colleges and universities, which report the vast majority of service denials, the cost of educating students varies widely based on class sizes, faculty experience and other factors. It's also impossible to know how many people never applied because they knew they couldn't afford out-of-state tuition.

But if all of the Maricopa County Community College District's 1,474 illegal immigrant students took a full-time course load, they paid an additional $7.5 million as nonresident students.

The number is harder to report for the three state universities, whose reports to the Legislature don't show how many illegal immigrants are enrolled.

Connie Anderson, who advocates for immigrants for the Valley Interfaith Project, said out-of-state tuition is prohibitively expensive for most immigrants, leaving eager high school graduates with nothing to do. Many of them were brought to Arizona as children and don't know any other home.

"We're sidelining the best of our kids and wasting human talent," Anderson said.

Her organization is promoting federal legislation that would grant legal residency to some people who were brought illegally to the United States as children.

Martin said the state subsidizes education because college graduates earn more money and eventually pay back the state with their higher income taxes. But illegal immigrants cannot legally work in the United States so they can't pay back the state's investment.

"When we're talking about college students, we're not talking about children anymore," Martin said. "At this point, you are responsible for following the law yourself."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... efits.html