Thread: U.S.-citizen children of immigrants protest higher tuition

U.S.-citizen children of immigrants protest higher tuition rates

U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants must pay out-of-state tuition in Florida. A lawsuit has been filed to overturn the policy.

By Michael Vasquez
mrvasquez@MiamiHerald.com

The far-reaching immigration debate in Florida and the nation has been going on for years, but until last week, the plight of students like Wendy Ruiz — an aspiring podiatrist — had been largely invisible.

Born and raised in Miami, Ruiz is a U.S. citizen. But in the eyes of Florida’s higher education system, she’s a dependent student whose parents are undocumented immigrants — and not considered legal Florida residents .

As such, Ruiz is charged higher-priced out-of-state tuition, even though she has a Florida birth certificate, Florida driver’s license and is a registered Florida voter. One semester of in-state tuition at Miami Dade College costs about $1,200, while out-of-state students pay roughly $4,500.

Many students are simply unable to absorb the increased cost. Ruiz has been attending Miami Dade College and, so far, has a 3.7 GPA but must work multiple part-time jobs just to pay for one class. Other similarly-affected students have completely given up on college.

“As an American, and a lifelong Florida resident, I deserve the same opportunities,â€

The children of illegal aliens should not be here benefitting from misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment. We really need to rectify the problem caused by Horace Gray

Read the comments after the article. It is a very heated debate. I was attacked and have fought back.

Duplicate. Locked. Plz leave comments at homepage
http://www.alipac.us/article-6698--0-0.html