Thread: Illegal immigration dominating the conversation at Florida

Illegal immigration dominating the conversation at Florida straw poll
PoliPundit.com
Elections and Politics with a Conservative bent.
Ultra-liberal journolist Dave Weigel reports:

Walking through the walls of the Orange County Convention Center, you hear these words and phrases over and over again.

Perry. Immigration. Illegals. Tuition. Illegals. He didn’t do as well as he could have. Why?

[i] Almost every conversation I walked into was on the question of why Rick Perry approved a law that let young non-citizens get in-state tuition rates at Texas schools, and why he had characterized the program’s critics as heartless. Dwayne Clark, an African-American sporting both Perry and Cain gear, was having an exhausting talk with a Cain backer named Carol Van Remmen.

“Look,â€

This is not rocket science folks. Gov. Perry was at the helm and supported granting illegal aliens "residency status" thereby allowing them one more pathway to access what should only be available to US Citizens! THEY ARE ALSO ACCESSING TWO GRANT PROGRAMS!

They also receive state financial aid.

Rise In Tuition Breaks For Illegal Immigrants

Last Updated: Wed, 03/17/2010 - 2:46pm

Amid a budget crisis that’s negatively impacted public education across the country, the number of illegal immigrants benefitting from discounted tuition at colleges and universities in Texas continues rising, costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in the last few years.

With the blessing of Republican Governor Rick Perry, The Lone Star State offers illegal aliens who graduate from Texas high schools heavily discounted tuition at any of the state’s public universities or two-year community colleges. The costly perk is supposed to be reserved for U.S. citizens or legal residents who live in the state.

Instead, thousands of illegal aliens annually receive the benefit as well as other taxpayer-funded financial aid and the exorbitant tab keeps growing. Texas has awarded nearly $34 million in state and institutional financial aid to illegal immigrants in the last four years alone, according to a Dallas newspaper report that quotes figures from the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Texas education officials continue the practice even though the Attorney General ruled last year that giving illegal immigrants discounted public college tuition is not legal. In an opinion published last June, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott stated that allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates breaks federal law.

Ironically, the undocumented students who obtain a U.S.-subsidized college degree can’t work in the country because of their immigration status. This hasn’t stopped a handful of states from investing in their publicly-financed educations, however. Led by Texas in 2001, nine other states have laws granting illegal aliens discounted tuition at public institutions of higher education.

Among them are California, Utah, Kansas, Washington, New York and Maryland. The practice has been legally challenged in several states, including Texas and California. Filed in December, the Texas lawsuit asserts that illegal immigrants are not eligible for federal aid such as Pell Grants.

In California a group of out-of-state American students argued that the Golden State’s public college system violates the law by charging them higher tuition and fees than undocumented immigrants. A California appellate court ruled in favor of the American students and the case is pending before the sate Supreme Court.

At least three states—Georgia, Oklahoma and Arizona—have solved the contentious issue by creating policies banning discounted tuition for illegal aliens at public schools.
http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2010/ ... immigrants



Number of illegal immigrants getting in-state tuition for Texas colleges rises(The Dallas Morning News)

The number of illegal immigrant college students paying in-state tuition and receiving financial aid at Texas’ public colleges and universities continues to climb, according to state higher education records.

During the fall semester, 12,138 students – about 1 percent of all Texas college students – benefited from the state law granting in-state tuition, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Most of the immigrants among those students are illegal, and some others are not legal permanent residents or U.S. citizens.

Texas awarded about $33.6 million in state and institutional financial aid to those students between fall 2004 and summer 2008.
In 2001, Texas became the first state in the country to pass an in-state tuition law. The law created a national movement. Many private universities also now award aid to illegal immigrant students.

Now some of the students are graduating but unable to work legally as professionals. Julie, 29, who moved from Mexico to Austin at age 12, earned a degree in nursing from the University of Texas. She is unable to work, so instead she volunteers in Dallas.

“You have people here, and they’re trained,â€