Thread: ALIPAC Responds to NC AG Decision for illegal aliens in Coll

NC Citizens that are upset about this news are encouraged to call in their objections to Democrat Attorney General Roy Cooper at 919-716-6400, Democrat Governor Mike Easley at (919)733-4240, Democrat President of the NC Senate Mark Basnight at (919) 733-6854, or Democratic Speaker of the House Joe Hackney at 919-733-3451

Placed calls to all 4. Got through to staffers who listened respectfully and took my comments down to relay.

Calls Made.

Press Release


Community Colleges: Attorney General Cooper Pulls A Quick One
Civitas Staff | July 25, 2008

Raleigh, N.C. – One week after the end of session, Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office has announced that the state community college system is permitted to enroll illegal aliens. The announcement reverses a previous opinion, released one week before the 2008 session convened, which had advised against admitting illegal aliens.

“The timing of the attorney general’s decision is curious,â€

Community Colleges and Illegal Immigration
Dr. Jameson Taylor | June 18, 2008


Sorting Fact from Fiction
An abridged version of this op-ed ran in the Greensboro News & Record

According to Civitas’ most recent DecisionMaker Poll, 68 percent of N.C. voters agree that illegal aliens shouldn’t be allowed to enroll in public universities and community colleges. But if voters seem to know what they want in this case, the General Assembly hasn’t yet decided. Two bills – one that would confirm that illegal aliens can’t attend public colleges and universities and one that would do the opposite – have been introduced during the 2008 session. Likewise, Representative Debbie Clary sponsored an amendment to the House budget that would have required all community college students to be in the United States legally. If this amendment failed, it reminds us that the debate over illegal aliens and community colleges is still raging. As this debate spills over into the legislative session, it is important to begin to separate fact from fiction.

Fiction: Federal law does not bar illegal aliens from receiving higher educational benefits.
Fact: Over the course of this debate, critics of the community college ban have gone from claiming that the law is “unsettledâ€

Get the Facts: Illegal Immigration & Community Colleges
Dr. Jameson Taylor | May 14, 2008

by Dr. Jameson Taylor and Dr. Robert Luebke


General Assembly Needs to Clarify Law

During the last 7 years, NCCCS has changed its position on enrolling illegal aliens four times. The most recent decision to cease enrolling illegal aliens could be changed at any time. What is needed is legislation that will clarify this matter once and for all.

On November 7, 2007, a memo from the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) mandated that all community “colleges should immediately begin admitting undocumented individuals.â€

N.C. colleges can admit illegal immigrants, Homeland Security tells AG
25 JUL 2008 • by Matt Saldaña

Nearly three months after recommending that North Carolina's community colleges ban illegal immigrants from enrolling in degree programs, because of potential violations of federal immigration law, the State Attorney General's office issued a clarification ( http://www.ncccs.cc.nc.us/News_Releases ... 072008.pdf ) late Thursday afternoon essentially reversing its recommendation.

The federal Department of Homeland Security "does not consider admission of undocumented aliens to public post-secondary educational institutions to be prohibited by federal law," the attorney general's office said in a letter to the community college system attorney dated July 24.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of DHS informed Attorney General Roy Cooper that he was wrong to cite federal law in advocating for a ban on illegal immigrants at North Carolina colleges. However, the N.C. Community College System will continue to deny admission to illegal immigrants seeking degrees, according to system spokesperson Chancy Kapp, until a decision is made by the State Board of Community Colleges. The board meets Aug. 14.

N.C. Community College System President R. Scott Ralls issued the moratorium in May, citing an advisory letter from Cooper. Of the 500,000 degree-seeking students in the system, an estimated 112 are undocumented, according to community college officials. Ralls stated in a press release on the school system's Web site: http://www.ncccs.cc.nc.us/News_Releases ... 051308.htm that "until we receive further clarification, we will no longer admit individuals classified as illegal or undocumented immigrants into curriculum degree programs." Cooper's office then wrote Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security, asking whether federal law prohibited NCCCS from admitting illegal immigrants to community colleges.

"The advisory letter received at that time, from the North Carolina Attorney General's office, offered the advice that we were probably in violation of federal law unless we received clarification," Kapp told the Indy in an interview. "Dr. Ralls was very concerned about acting against legal advice, from the State Attorney General's office, and both followed the legal advice and asked for further clarification immediately."

Jim Pendergraph, a local ICE director, wrote the N.C. Attorney General's office that "individual states must decide for themselves whether or not to admit illegal aliens into their public post-secondary institutions." He emphasized that ICE does not consider college admission a "public benefit" regulated by federal immigration policy, and said that individual states can bar or admit illegal immigrants either through state policy or legislation. Two bills are currently being discussed in the Legislature—one that would ban illegal immigrants from attending college in the state, and another that would allow admission.
http://www.indyweek.com:80/gyrobase/Con ... d%3A261389

However, the N.C. Community College System will continue to deny admission to illegal immigrants seeking degrees, according to system spokesperson Chancy Kapp, until a decision is made by the State Board of Community Colleges. The board meets Aug. 14

Looks like this is the link to the above board (please correct me if I'm wrong):

http://www.ncccs.cc.nc.us/State_Board/members.htm