Thread: IL - Governor should reject aid to illegal immigrants

I know this area well. They haven't felt the effects of illegal immigration yet so I'm not surprised by this article. Another area that needs waking up is waking up.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006 ... 122114.txt

Governor should reject aid to illegal immigrants


Wednesday, December 27, 2006 12:17 AM CST


Helping legal immigrants in Illinois to learn English so they can better assimilate into and contribute to society is a good idea.

A pair of state panels looking into ways to help immigrants should have stopped there.

But they didn't.

Recommendations from the New American's Policy Council and the state's Interagency Task Force included English training for all interested immigrants, regardless of whether they are legal or "undocumented."

So-called welcome centers, providing one-stop shopping for health-care, employment and housing assistance - in addition to language education - also were part of the proposals.

The price tag is $25 million in new money, not counting existing resources that would be reallocated to this effort.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who created these two groups by executive order about a year ago, should smile politely, say "thank you" and shelve any recommendations that try to pretend there is no difference between legal and illegal immigrants.

To do otherwise would be an insult to those who followed the rules in coming to this country and an affront to taxpayers providing the money for these services.

Yes, even some illegal immigrants pay taxes. But the bulk of the money still comes from taxpayers who are here legally.

Other needs in Illinois should take precedence over providing services to people who are not supposed to be here.

The state might even run afoul of federal law if it provides services to illegal immigrants.

Having more dual-language schools - in which immigrants are taught in their native language part of the day - also was recommended.

Depending on how such a recommendation is implemented, it could result in another unfunded state mandate for already heavily burdened school districts and their taxpayers.

The proposed "We Want to Learn English" campaign would enlist the state's community colleges to provide more classes.

Heartland Community College already offers free English as a Second Language classes in the daytime, evening and Saturdays through its adult education program. And demand is growing.

Jill Blair, coordinator of Heartland's ESL program, said 216 students took the classes in the 2005-06 academic year. This year about 150 students participated in the first semester. When Blair first came to Heartland in the fall of 2003, about 80 students took English as a Second Language classes.

Such classes benefit the community as well as the students in them. The program is paid for through grants from the federal and state government.

These classes should be encouraged, but the welcome centers are not welcome.

Heartland Community College already offers free English as a Second Language classes in the daytime, evening and Saturdays through its adult education program. And demand is growing.

Don't you just love such rhetoric? The classes are only free to those taking them, not to the hard-working American citizens paying for them!

Is is not taxpayers responsibility to pay for their learning English. The illegals just need to learn 5 words "criminal, go home,not wanted" because that is all they need to know about English!