Thread: Alert!! Colorado Still Needs Our Help!!

Members, please, if you can, get some calls and emails out on this today.


Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform

March 17, 2009

Bill SB09-170 is still alive in the Senate - this is the bill that would give in-state tuition to illegal aliens who can not even legally work in our country. It is important for you to call and email the Senators listed below. Tell them to kill this anti-American bill. It is not fair to give tuition breaks to those illegally in the United States when citizens in Colorado can not even afford to send their own children to college.

Senator Romer (D)
303-866-4852
email chris.romer.senate@state.co.us

Rep Joe Miklosi (D)
(303)866-2910
email joe@joemiklosi.com

Senator Peter Groff (D)
303-866-3342
email peter.groff.senate@state.co.us
Senate Appropriations Committee Members
# Abel Tapia (D)303-866-2581
email abel..tapia.senate@state.co.us

# Maryanne "Moe" Keller (D) 303-866-4856
email moe.keller.senate@state.co.us

# Bob Bacon (D)303-866-4841
email bob.bacon.senate@state.co.us

# Ted Harvey (R)303-866-4881
email ted.harvey.senate@state.co.us

# Mary Hodge (D)303-866-4855
email mary..hodge.senate@state.co.us

# Keith King (R)303-866-4880
email keith.king.senate@state.co.us

# Mike Kopp (R)303-866-2638
email mike..kopp.senate@state.co.us

# Paula Sandoval (D)303-866-4862
email paula.sandoval.senate@state.co.us

# Al White (R)303-866-2586
email al.white.senate@state.co.us

# Suzanne Williams (D)303-866-3432
email suzanne.williams.senate@state.co.us

See the link for more information:
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... c&t=150048
_________________

LETS ALL ROAR PATRIOTS.................NO INSTATE TUITION FOR ILLEGALS!!!!! WE ARE AS MAD AS HELL AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!

This guy is the worst of the bunch!!! I almost had a yelling match with the staffer!!

Rep Joe Miklosi (D)
(303)866-2910
email joe@joemiklosi.com

Below is a reply I got back from Joe Miklosi after I wrote him regarding this bill. My followup reply is sure to get me on someones watch list

Dear Rick,
thank you very much for taking time to share your thoughts about SB 170 with me. I always appreciate hearing from Coloradans, even when they do not agree with my stance. Even though I may not be able to change your opinion about this bill, I wanted to take a moment to explain the many benefits of this legislation, correct several misconceptions about this legislation, as well as immigration laws, and convey to you why I decided to sponsor this legislation in the State House.

I decided to sponsor this bill to both create educational opportunities and hope for talented, hard-working, students who have been forgotten and for pragmatic, economic reasons so that they can be incorporated into our society as taxpaying citizens once they earn a college degree and a job. This bill, which will just offer in-state tuition and no scholarships, will help accomplish that goal.



Senate Bill 170 is good for our economy, strengthens our communities, keeps us competitive with other Western states, and provides an opportunity for more Coloradans to seek higher education. First, and contrary to some popular beliefs, SB 170 is not just a matter of generosity, but also an economic development strategy to bolster the state's economy. The passage of SB 170 will not cost Colorado tax payers a cent! Also, studies have indicated that college graduates are less likely to get caught in a cycle of poverty and crime, and that they tend to be more productive and civically engaged; they vote more, and are more likely to contribute to the state tax base. The states with higher percentages of college graduates have higher productivity and attract more high-growth biomedical, technology, and new energy corporations.

Second, we are already funding undocumented students' K-12 education (as federal law has mandated nationwide since a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision), and we will be wasting this initial investment if we do not provide an opportunity for these students to pursue higher education and ultimately give back to the state. Undocumented students are currently ten times less likely to attend college and realizing this futility, often drop out during high school. Tuition equity is by no means a free pass to college. Instead, all SB 170 does is to permit this portion of Colorado's population to pay in-state tuition. These students will still have to apply and be accepted, so only the qualified students will benefit from the bill's passage. Additionally, there are no enrollment caps at the 13 community colleges and most of the four year universities and colleges in Colorado, so these students will not be competing for spots with others. I am working with the two universities - the University of Colorado and Colorado State University - to expand their enrollment caps so others are not denied a spot in college.



Third, SB 170 provides an opportunity for Colorado to stay competitive with our nearby states. Ten other states currently have passed tuition equity legislation, and many of these are Western states: California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Washington. California and Texas have calculated that any costs associated with this legislation were minimal when compared with spending on social programs and the higher rates of crime that would result if nothing was done.

Fourth, when discussing SB 170, I have often heard the argument that it is "unfair" to offer illegal immigrants residing in Colorado in-state tuition, but that it would be more "fair" to offer it to residents of other states instead. Illegal immigrants residing in Colorado pay a considerable amount of state taxes. Even though they are undocumented, every time an illegal immigrant purchases anything, he or she pays a sales tax. Those who own houses pay their property taxes, and those who rent their homes/apartments pay taxes as a part of their rent every month. Additionally, they pay tolls and fuel taxes when driving. The idea behind offering in-state tuition to residents of a given state is that their state taxes have already contributed and helped to subsidize the costs of these state-sponsored colleges and universities, unlike their out-of-state counterparts. In-state tuition averages around $2,340 a semester, while out-of-state tuition averages over $7,000 a semester.

Fifth, I would like to clear up some of the misconceptions surrounding federal immigration laws. First, there is currently no easy solution or "path to citizenship" for these effected students. The only option out there for these students, many of whom entered the country when they were very young, is to go back to their country and apply for legal re-entry. Although this sounds like an easy process, in order to get back into the country, each applicant must have an immediate relative, who is already a U.S. citizen to serve as a sponsor, and must wait the mandatory 10 years before re-entering. With an arduous and often impossible process like this, not many illegal immigrants will adhere to this federal immigration policy. Second, I have also heard many people argue the futility of educating illegal immigrants because legally, they cannot be hired by Colorado businesses. First of all, educating our residents is always beneficial to our society, regardless of employment status, and secondly, on the federal level, legislation will be introduced shortly that would remedy this concern. The DREAM Act, expected to be introduced in April in the Congress would grant conditional legal residency to these students, as long as they graduate from high school, are accepted by a college, perform two years of community service or two years of military service, and stay out of trouble.

SB 170 is an incredibly beneficial bill to the state of Colorado and all of its residents. It will help to break the cycle of poverty among this section of Colorado's population and will provide immeasurable hope to those who wish to better themselves and their futures. Even if this email has not persuaded you to support this measure, I sincerely hope that it has at least explained my rationale for supporting it.

Finally, as you know, immigration and economics are intrinsically connected. We need to think about pragmatic, reasonable solutions that encourage a positive outlet, such as earning a college degree, and not a hopelessness outlet, which can lead to dependence on welfare and the criminal justice system.



A few months ago, I heard a PhD economist associated with the Independence Institute, which you know is a conservative think tank in Colorado Springs. He said 500 PhD economists of diverse political backgrounds, from liberal to conservative, signed a letter that showed the United States experiences a $20 billion dollar net gain on the economy annually from illegal immigrants. The study incorporated all of the dollars that illegal immigrants use, such as health care and education resources. The economists also calculated all of the sales tax, gas tax, and unreported money that they contribute to the economy. As you know, it is difficult to get two economists to agree on anything - let along 500 of them. The study is pretty convincing.



Additionally, a recent bi-partisan, federal government, General Accounting Office study showed that it would cost the United States taxpayers $387 billion dollars to identify and deport 15 million people. No one has ever seriously proposed doing this, including former Congressman Tancredo. As a result, we need to think of practical solutions that assimilate undocumented people into our society with opportunity, responsibility and dignity. I also recognize that we need to invest in strong border controls and reform our immigration and Visa system so that the wait list is not decades long and create an immigration system that allows equal access from people from all countries.



Again, thank you for sharing your opinion on this issue.



I look forward to the dialogue.



Sincerely,



Joe Miklosi