Thread: Take care of U.S. citizens first

May 12, 2013 4:33 PM
Coloradoan.com

I recently attended a roundtable meeting in Evans hosted by Sen. Mark Udall. The topic of discussion was illegal immigration. The invited guests (I was not one of them) consisted of approximately 10 to 15 members of the panel who are pro-illegal-immigration reform and two members speaking against the “Gang of Eight” immigration reform bill.

What drove me to attend and try to have my voice heard was an April 18 article in the Coloradoan titled, “Sen. Michael Bennet: Economic side of immigration bill helps Colorado.” When Sen. Bennet was questioned about the bill giving amnesty to illegal immigrants, he stated, “This is a citizenship that’s earned.” The phrase “earned citizenship” was repeated by Sen. Udall during this roundtable. I sat and listened to Sen. Udall’s response to table members’ questions, such as, “While we are in temporary status, will we qualify for student loans and grants?” and “Will our family members get moved further up in the line?” He promised the table members that he would definitely pursue those issues for them.

When I had my one minute for a question, I explained to Sen. Udall that when I retired from the Air Force after 20 years and my husband was still on active duty, we packed up our family and moved to Cheyenne, Wyo., where my husband was reassigned. Leaving our family behind was difficult, but the military, like many employers, doesn’t give you the option of saying no. Once the family was settled, I decided to pursue my graduate degree. I had two choices; drive over the pass to Laramie and pay in-state tuition or drive south to Fort Collins and pay out-of-state tuition. I drove south and attended CSU. I willingly paid out-of-state tuition because that was the law — I was not, at the time, a legal resident of Colorado. I shared my frustration that now you can live in this state, not be a U.S. citizen and pay less for your publically funded education than someone who is a citizen and served 20 years in the military. The senator was sympathetic and stated that he “wished the pot was bigger.”

The truth is, the pot of money is probably not going to get bigger. We need to get more involved in what our elected officials are doing and urge them to make sure that our tax dollars will be used to provide services to citizens of this country, not people who are not only not citizens but who broke our laws by coming into this country illegally.

Finally, I’d like to share my idea of “earned citizenship.” I saw it when I watched my 22-year-old Marine son, who served two tours in Afghanistan, plan his road trip back from Colorado to Camp Lejeune. With sadness in my heart, I watched him calling cemeteries to find out where his buddies are buried and then contact a Marine mom and dad who lost their only child, one of my son’s closest friends, during one of the deployments — that’s earned citizenship. Never forgotten — I hope our senators don’t forget us.

Chris Kelley is a Fort Collins resident.

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20...ey=mod|mostcom

Boy .. what a Novel Concept

you would think that...

1. The Politicians would do this in the first damn place and

2. The American People would have had enough of this SHIT from DC Politicians a LONG time ago

sorry for the cursing... but this NUTTY Shit that the American People Put up with is Like Stockholm Syndrome

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

Boy .. what a Novel Concept

you would think that...

1. The Politicians would do this in the first damn place and

2. The American People would have had enough of this SHIT from DC Politicians a LONG time ago

sorry for the cursing... but this NUTTY Shit that the American People Put up with is Like Stockholm Syndrome

yes the USA citizen's should come first no two way about this .I say impeached him & all of the rest of the wh
our guys & girls are over sea fighting for us & this is what we put up with .& when they come home
the gov or obama don't do one thing about this they have no jobs . In My book they should get
money . for what they all do. i saw on tv I feel so sorry for the family . & again the USA should come first

Out of state tuition should be dropped, would be the only fair way to handle this. But we have no one on our side; as the Civil liberties organizations are fighting for illegals rights now. We are being treated like criminals any chance they have to tax us or get their hands on what little money we have left they want.

Originally Posted by posylady

Out of state tuition should be dropped, would be the only fair way to handle this. But we have no one on our side; as the Civil liberties organizations are fighting for illegals rights now. We are being treated like criminals any chance they have to tax us or get their hands on what littl money we have left they want.

I with you Posylady
I say should it should stop . the tuition should stop we are fighting for our right . what about our right
or it just for the illegal Immigrant's that all BS you know this is to the Senator & obama it not only mexico
it china & all the other that are In Our country illegal also I see this every day .I ask this china guy what
street do you live on . & he said I can not tell you ?
what so another word's he should not be In Our country