Thread: Students rally to back Alien Minors Act

Students rally to back Alien Minors Act
Javier Manzano © The Rocky


By Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News
March 8, 2007
When 16-year-old David Mendez, of Denver, attended last year's Peace Jam, he asked Costa Rican President Oscar Arias what he thought of a proposal to give legal status to children of illegal immigrants who graduate from high school.
"He said he supported it. That's when I decided I had to fight for it," said Mendez, a Lincoln High School junior who attended the Denver event that brought together Nobel Peace Prize winners with youths from around the world.

Mendez was among of group of students and community organizers who gathered Wednesday to support the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, introduced in the U.S. House and Senate this past week.

Three other efforts to pass the bill have failed.

"Everybody should be able to have an education and have a chance to fulfill their dreams," said Mendez, a National Honor Society member who holds the third-highest position in the local region's junior ROTC program and dreams of becoming an officer in the U.S. military.

Each year, an estimated 65,000 students brought as children to the United States by their illegal immigrant parents graduate from public high schools, according to the nonpartisan Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.
Although they are legally entitled to a K-12 public education, they can attend a public college if they pay out-of-state tuition, which in Colorado is three to five times higher than resident tuition.

They are ineligible for state or federal financial aid.

Those who can afford the higher tuition still cannot legally work here because of their immigration status.

The proposed legislation would give high school graduates temporary legal status, and it would allow them to qualify for legal permanent status when they attend college or when they serve in the military.
Stan Weekes, director of the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform, has been a longtime opponent of the proposal.

"It's basically a violation of federal law to provide in-state tuition to illegal aliens," Weekes said.

"Under U.S. law, illegal aliens may not hold a job in the U.S.

"Tax dollars expended on higher education for illegal aliens to prepare them for professional careers only draws more illegal aliens to those states offering in-state tuition."

Several states - including Texas, New York and California - have passed legislation allowing these students to enroll in public colleges at the cheaper in-state tuition rates.

Similar bills were introduced in Colorado, but failed.

Cesar Ramos, a junior at Montbello High School, said that his 3.6 GPA is "worthless" if the DREAM Act fails again.

"Some of my friends have lost motivation about going to college," he said.

"Before, they used to fill out applications and they also were very smart students, but now they just ditch classes and don't do any work because they know they can't go to college." (Bull. !!!)

Antwan Wilson, principal at Montbello High School in Denver, spoke in favor of the proposal at a news conference at North Presbyterian Church in Denver.

The news conference was sponsored by Padres y Jovenes Unidos and the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.

Wilson said he has seen too many students like Ramos' friends.

"As an educator, it hurts to see promising young students give up because they feel there's no future for them," Wilson said.

Mendez, who immigrated to the United States with his family when he was 9, has bet his future on the passage of the national bill.

"If the DREAM Act does not pass, my career, my future would go down," he said.

"It would make me sad to have to go to another country to go on with my life."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/l ... 94,00.html
quinterof@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5250

I don't think in our Constitution we have any RIGHTS FOE ILLEGAL ALLIENS
Why these people don't agree to bring every child around the world to America...I bet you there are children, in much more need and intelligent too.

It would seem as though there aren't any schools or colleges in Mexico, maybe our armed forces could send him down there and show them how to build and run one.

I don't think in our Constitution we have any RIGHTS FOE ILLEGAL ALLIENS. Why these people don't agree to bring every child around the world to America...I bet you there are children, in much more need and intelligent too.

I'm not sure how one can measure a person who is much more need and is more intelligent. Everything is relative. One could say that since many illegal aliens (I would say all) come from poor backgrounds, they have a greater need for education in order to better their lives. And another could say that those who have the ability to assimilate and learn a new foreign language (or remain bilingual) while attempting to study in another shows intelligence, hardwork, and the capability of succeeding in other ventures - including that of higher educaiton.

I just tend to shy away from saying who deserves what and why since that's just playing God.

It would seem as though there aren't any schools or colleges in Mexico, maybe our armed forces could send him down there and show them how to build and run one.

Eh. I'd rather not have America show Mexicans how to build and run a school/college if inner city public schools are any indication. Already in third world countries, there is a large discrepancy in wealth distribution. US public school systems, especially in my home state of NJ, tend to use area tax revenue to supplement primary education costs. Put the two together, you got nothing.

Get me an Indian or Chinese engineer and professor, please. While either of them still grapple with teaching the poor, at least the educated kids will learn Math and Sciences properly.

That being said, I wonder what is the big deal that these kids want to go to college in the U.S? If you all like for education to operate on a system of meritocracy (as many opponents of Affirmative Action like to argue), then if the illegal alien gets in to college who has performed better than the U.S citizen on the requirements of admissions, then what's the issue? Is the kid taking the rightful spot of an underperforming U.S citizen or has he or she earned the right to go to college and earn a degree?

Hmmmm

LALA
it seems you have a very special agenda.
How sweet.

Redistribution of Wealth.......now that's an original communist/socialist idea brought here from 3rd world country's immigrants and ILLEGAL ALIENS.

Go to the USofA where one can take whatever one wants rather than working to improve ones own country.

Not going to fly, LALA. It's UNAMERICAN to take without earning it.
ILLEGAL ALIENS need to go home and work the build their own countries just as Americans have diligently built America over the past 230+ years.

They need to go back where they belong and learn how to make a prosperous life, community and nation.

They need to go back where they belong and learn how to make a prosperous life, community and nation.

***sarcasm alert

Um, why should they, our 'leaders' are giving them ours that our fore-fathers fought and died for?

OK, got my popcorn and all weekend.

When 16-year-old David Mendez, of Denver, attended last year's Peace Jam, he asked Costa Rican President Oscar Arias what he thought of a proposal to give legal status to children of illegal immigrants who graduate from high school.
"He said he supported it. That's when I decided I had to fight for it," said Mendez, a Lincoln High School junior who attended the Denver event that brought together Nobel Peace Prize winners with youths from around the world.

Well, David Mendez, of Denver, if you're an illegal alien, perhaps you should go to Costa Rico to take Mr. Arias up on the cheaper tuition. Or, is Mr. Arias only for cheaper tuition HERE and not in Costa Rico?

"Everybody should be able to have an education and have a chance to fulfill their dreams," said Mendez, a National Honor Society member who holds the third-highest position in the local region's junior ROTC program and dreams of becoming an officer in the U.S. military.

Has Mr. David Mendez, of Denver, said yet whether or not he's an illegal alien. If he is, I'm sure the National Honor Society recognition will only add to his college application in his HOME country. They'd love to have one of their brightest back.

The proposed legislation would give high school graduates temporary legal status, and it would allow them to qualify for legal permanent status when they attend college or when they serve in the military.

They need to stick this proposed legislation where the sun don't shine.

Cesar Ramos, a junior at Montbello High School, said that his 3.6 GPA is "worthless" if the DREAM Act fails again.

Alias, Cesar, surely your HOME country would be more than willing to give you a college education if you're an illegal alien.

The news conference was sponsored by Padres y Jovenes Unidos and the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.

Say it ain't so

Mendez, who immigrated to the United States with his family when he was 9, has bet his future on the passage of the national bill.

Seems Mr. David Mendez turns out to be an illegal alien after all and will lose his "bet" as well.

"It would make me sad to have to go to another country to go on with my life."

Sorry, 9 years of taxpayer-supported education's all you get, Mr. David Mendez. Bye, bye.

I'm not sure how one can measure a person who is much more need and is more intelligent. Everything is relative. One could say that since many illegal aliens (I would say all) come from poor backgrounds, they have a greater need for education in order to better their lives. And another could say that those who have the ability to assimilate and learn a new foreign language (or remain bilingual) while attempting to study in another shows intelligence, hardwork, and the capability of succeeding in other ventures - including that of higher educaiton.

Yeah, and I want my kid to go to Harvard. Maybe I can just sneak him in??

[/quote]

Hmmmm

LALA
it seems you have a very special agenda.
How sweet.

Redistribution of Wealth.......now that's an original communist/socialist idea brought here from 3rd world country's immigrants and ILLEGAL ALIENS.

Go to the USofA where one can take whatever one wants rather than working to improve ones own country.

Not going to fly, LALA. It's UNAMERICAN to take without earning it.
ILLEGAL ALIENS need to go home and work the build their own countries just as Americans have diligently built America over the past 230+ years.

They need to go back where they belong and learn how to make a prosperous life, community and nation.

Of course, everyone has an agenda. Obviously, ALIPAC would not exist without one.

Personally, my agenda isn't wealth distribution. If you read my post, I said that there is a high level of unequal wealth distribution especially in the Third World. This is fact. If you look it up, there is a coefficient that measures wealth distribution that the UN calculates. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke also mentioned that there is a high level in the U.S.

If you really want to know my agenda about fixing the American school system, I'm of the opinion that we need some kind of privatization or voucher system. I'm a person that was fortunate enough to get into a private school which paid its teachers above what public teachers made. Therefore, giving more incentive for teachers to actually teach the children. There is this one wealthy fellow who actually forked over 30 or so million dollars to attract extremely talented derivative traders from the financial services industry to teach in really needy school systems. These guys get paid nicely and there have been great results.

Redistributing wealth is not an option, in my opinion. Many people have tried this socialist agenda and have failed miserably while also creating a system of corruption on top of that. I'm all for using capitalism as an effective way of revamping our education system. I think capitalism can be used for good - and if you know anything about microfinancing, we can talk about it. By the way, THAT is a Third World notion that has taken off nicely - IMF, World Bank, and all first world concoctions that attempted to address these issues have failed.

By the way, Americans haven't built America to what it is today. Slaves and immigrant labor did it. The high rises, the White House, the roads. People who started off at the very bottom of America's social ladder built America - people who weren't even considered American built America. I can give you sources, at your request, for your perusal.

I would like to discuss further the idea of taking rather than earned. Since we are specifically talking about the DREAM Act and dealing with minors, I figure take would be in this case using the public school system and American tax dollars. Although could easily say "then don't teach them", I think that's kind of foolhardy only because you will potentially create an illiterate underclass and would have more kids on the street. Until America has a system that can fluidly find and deport every last child, this will be the reality.

But, I wonder if all of these illegal alien children paid back the public school system for the time that they spent in school? Private high school and colleges notwithstanding since parents have to subsidize the tuition and private institutions have their own endowments and funds to help out needy students. You can also find how much it takes to educate a child, add up the figures in which the child used the public school system, and then hand that child the bill once he or she turns 18.

I feel like the point is with the whole "take" vs "earned" argument is that we are implying as if the child in question had a choice. At the age in which many kids came to America, there was simply no choice. One comparison I would make is that no judge would convict a three year old for stealing something from a store when he or she was prodded along by his or her parent.

Education is supposed to be a system of meritocracy. If this is an incorrect assumption, please do explain to me why it shouldn't be or isn't.

Wanting your kid to go to Harvard isn't the same as your kid actually putting in the effort thereby earning his way to Harvard. I actually go to an Ivy League institution and bottom line is that you don't get anything if you don't put in the work (to put it mildly). At many schools, valedictorians and salutetorians have increasingly been international students. I guess we should deport them since they've taken the spots of US Citizens who could have made it, but actually didn't.

Bottom line: You want education to be based on merit or based on citizenship? In Corporate America, I assure you, it's all merit based. If you don't cut it, you get fired. In Education, you get the A if you put in the work. Simple. If these kids put in the work and beat out all their classmates, that's Capitalism and Individualism at its BEST![/i][/quote]