Thread: NJ Legisl. introduce in-state tuition bill...

Legislators seek lower tuition for N.J. illegals

Published: Monday, January 12, 2009

A child goes to school in New Jersey for his entire academic life, graduates from high school, maybe is even an honor student, but under current law may not be able to attend college here, or can do so only at a much higher cost, because he is living in the country illegally.

The issue of allowing undocumented students to attend state colleges as New Jersey residents seems to have very little middle ground in the court of public opinion. People either support it or are vehemently opposed.

A bill introduced by Assemblyman Gordon H. Johnson and Assembly-
woman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, both D-Bergen, aims to establish that middle ground by allowing some undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at state colleges under very specific circumstances.

The bill would require the students to attend high school in the state for at least three years and have a New Jersey-endorsed diploma. The students also would have to have filed or be ready to file an application to become a legal resident.

Huttle said she sponsored the bill because there are cases in which children have lived in New Jersey virtually all of their lives, attended school here, and even applied for legal status but are still denied. The backlog to gain legal status can be years, and she said she does not believe those students should be penalized.

"We are penalizing good New Jersey students who are on the road to success," she said.

Undocumented students can attend some colleges, but often must do so as international students at a much higher cost.

Atlantic Cape Community College, for example, will accept international students, who pay $353.60 per credit for the first 24 credits. If they live in Atlantic County, they can then continue at the $88.40 per credit rate paid by county residents.

Since undocumented families do not have Social Security numbers or green cards, they cannot apply for financial aid or state-sponsored scholarships, so they likely would have to pay the full cost of college themselves.

The controversy is not limited to New Jersey. The federal DREAM Act would support state efforts to offer in-state tuition, but Congress has repeatedly rejected it. About 10 states have passed laws similar to the one proposed in the Garden State, but some are facing legal challenges. Other states have barred undocumented students from enrolling in college at all, even as international students. The American Association of State Colleges and Universities wants more federal guidance and
has undocumented students listed among its top 10 higher education issues for 2009.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine's Blue Ribbon Panel on Immigration Policy ap-
proved recommendations last week that reportedly include support for an in-state tuition proposal. The governor still must review the report, which will not be made public for a couple of weeks. The Johnson-Huttle bill has been languishing in committee. Huttle said she hopes the new interest, even if it is controversial, will at least jump-start the discussion.

"We're going to be pushing it over the next couple of weeks," she said. "These students are New Jersey residents, on their way to becoming citizens. I feel we do have a responsibility to them."

E-mail Diane D'Amico:

DDamico@pressofac.com

Link to the blog where comments can be left regarding Calderon's "efforts" to fight the drug cartels and violence in Mexico.....

http://www.matt.org/english/blog/1945/p ... deron.html

We need to RED ALERT our NJ supporters on this!

W

No it wasn't the kid's fault they were forced into this country by their greedy illegal parents, BUT it is also not the fault of American kids who have to compete with illegals for that desperately needed course for graduation. American kids don't need this kind of pressure as they will face that when they go looking for a job and find none, because those jobs have been outsourced or workers have been replaced by cheap, underqualified visa-holders.

"We're going to be pushing it over the next couple of weeks," she said. "These students are New Jersey residents, on their way to becoming citizens. I feel we do have a responsibility to them.

No...these adult "students" are residing illegally in New Jersey....and cannot become U.S. citizens unless they return to their home countries and begin the process of trying to obtain a legally valid student visa. While this ninny-headed legislator feels a personal responsibilty...it is not the sentiment nor the responsiblity of NJ citizens and taxpayers to not only waive federal visa requirements for admittance of foreign nationals as students...but to then also reward them with in-state tuition discounts reserved for New Jersey students who are U.S. citizens. It is bad policy to put illegal alien students in a better position than foreign students here on legally valid student visas.

Besides like I've said before.....these illegal alien adult students have every right and opportunity to pursue their college education in their home countries ...and in most cases... for free or for a small fraction of what it costs to attend even a 2-yr. community college in the States. (Mexican public universities..including the world-class National Autonmous University of Mexico is FREE to Mexican nationals) They all know this...yet they choose to snub their noses at the opportunities they do have and instead are demanding laws be enacted to reward the illegal acts of their parents. If anything these students and their advocates should be demanding that their Consulates provide them with the pertinent information regarding enrollment and admission to higher education institutions in their homelands including financial aid/scholarships, etc. Wouldn't it make sense that their nations would want them back and should be rolling out the red carpet for these kids?

Has this writer lost his/her mind?

Penalized?

"A child goes to school in New Jersey for his entire academic life"
and at the U S Taxpayers expense...THAT IS NOT PENALIZED....

Tbow: These kids were rewarded from the minute they set foot in NJ...with all kinds of free medical care, free lunch/free breakfast programs, free K-12 public school education, and a host of other freebies. That's why so many flock to NJ....the welfare state for illegal immigrants...no questions asked regarding immigration status to apply for anything the state has to give out.

How fair is it that foreign nationals enrolled at Rutgers must show a legally valid student visa, take and pass the TOEFL, show proof of funds sufficient to pay for tuition and expenses BEFORE they arrive in the U.S. .....but all these requirements are waived for illegal aliens AND the state of NJ will reward their families with in-state tuition discounts reserved for legal residents of New Jersey...something even PA students across the Delaware River aren't even eligible for...

The students also would have to have filed or be ready to file an application to become a legal resident.

Can't get legal if you are here illegally, what a moron!

They can either pay the out of state rate or international rate or not go at all, but NO in-state tuiton to any illegal!

Where is the source link on this article? All articles must have source links. Im trying to post and send this out now and cant. Looking now..... grrrr.

W

found it

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/164/ ... 69787.html

Added to the homepage and going out to our national supporters now with the following note and resource link

WARNING! Legislators seek lower tuition for N.J. illegals

ALIPAC NOTE: All NJ supporters please read How To Defeat In-State Tuition for Illegals in Your State and take immediate action on the local level!

http://www.alipac.us/article3893.html

READ AND DEPLOY 'How to defeat in-state tuition for illegals in YOUR state!'
http://www.alipac.us/article396.html