Thread: Tuition Plan For Illegal Immigrants Misses Deadline

Tuition Plan For Illegal Immigrants Misses Legislative Deadlline




June 6, 2005



RALEIGH, N.C. -- The General Assembly's crossover deadline served to extract what is likely the last breath from a bill that would have allowed the children of some illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition at public universities.



The self-imposed cutoff by legislators to sift out measures that don't have the support to pass at least one chamber came and went last week with no movement on the bill -- potentially delaying a vote on similar legislation until at least 2007.



"I think there's been a real education about a lot of lawmakers about where the public sat on these type of issues," William Gheen, president of bill opponent Americans for Legal Immigration, said Monday. He attributed the bill's defeat to "mass public opposition."



Gheen and those on both sides of the issue said Monday they intend to keep educating the public and legislators about the estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants who live in North Carolina. Many of them came to the state from Mexico.



"I don't think anybody is suggesting that we could round them all up and send them away," Chris Fitzsimon, director of the liberal-leaning NC Policy Watch, said Monday. "They're going to be here."



The measure would have given in-state tuition for University of North Carolina and community college campuses to students who attend North Carolina high schools for at least four consecutive years before graduation. The teenagers also would have to apply for legal immigration status to receive the resident rate.



The legislation elicited an outcry from opponents on talk radio stations and the Internet almost as soon as it was filed in April.



At least nine lawmakers of the 35 sponsors and co-sponsors of the measure pulled their names soon after, despite support from former Gov. Jim Hunt. An Elon University poll found apparent support for the proposal. Opponents pointed to surveys to the contrary.



Gheen and many of his allies contend the bill is an invitation for illegal immigrants to move to North Carolina, whose resources are already being stretched. His group plans to start running radio ads Tuesday pushing for another bill that would deny permanent public assistance benefits to illegal immigrants.



Although it's possible the measure could be exempted from the deadline -- because it could "substantially" affect the state budget -- or be inserted into another bill, Latino advocates announced they have given up on the legislation's passage.



The bill "will not be approved by our General Assembly this year, and will not be presented for a vote by the House of Representatives' Education Committee during the current legislative session," according to a news release from Latino advocates, including El Pueblo and the North Carolina Society of Hispanic Professionals.



The groups "are disappointed but not discouraged," the release said. "We stand firm in our commitment to ensure education for all. And we use this opportunity to publicly reaffirm that this is a vital issue for our state."



Between 500 and 1,300 students likely would have applied for admission to UNC system schools if the bill passed, the backers said.



NC Policy Watch and El Pueblo plan a June 28 luncheon in Raleigh featuring Hunt to discuss the bill and other immigration issues. Supporters have said offering in-state tuition would help lower the dropout rate among Hispanic youths and train them to enter the job market.



"The (opposing) arguments have been to blame high school kids. In essence, they're blaming them for succeeding in high school," Fitzsimon said.

>>"I don't think anybody is suggesting that we could round them all up and send them away," Chris Fitzsimon, director of the liberal-leaning NC Policy Watch, said Monday. "They're going to be here."<<


Mr. Fitzsimon,


Sir, you have not yet grasped the true feelings of a very large percentage of Americans. We are fed up with legislators shirking their Oaths of Office. This is not what we pay them to do.



A full performance report will certainly take note if these criminals have been removed from the crime scene, our America, or if in fact they have been left to multiply.


We are not suggesting that they all be confined with the walls of prisons, however the absence of all public benefit programs would encourage them to leave with utmost haste in search of more luxurious grounds.

The criminal prosecution of employers would leave them to find that they are in fact living in a country that holds it laws in respect, something neither employers not illegal aliens now have for America.



"Sending them away" would not be necessary if the candies were removed from the public coffee tables.



From
a concerned citizen