Alright, I have to admit that I am clearly a Maroon 5 addict and have a bromance with all members of Maroon 5. Sorry, honey, but I think I go all girlie for just about every song of theirs. Some are a bit more raunchy for my general tastes, but here’s a recent one that didn’t chart so well…but one I still like:
Archive for October, 2011
This is what happens when authority is abused, when it exceeds the charge we citizens bestow upon our leaders. I’m not reporting news here that the govenor, through the Higher Education Board, forced the state’s university’s to offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.
When I heard the news, all I could do was shake my head. Those on my side of political spectrum talked about the additional costs passed onto to the taxpayer as part of the reason this is a bad idea. I’m a bit more practical.
Say you’re an illegal immigrant and you graduate in 2015, what are your job prospects? Say you’re deported in 2013, what’s the point of having for the last couple of years an in-state tuition cost basis while on your way back to you home country?
Unfortunately, the Governor is putting the cart before the horse. Until and unless there is immigration reform such that the millions of people who live here and have for years are integrated into the system, all in-state tuition does is offer a low cost education that will reap about zero economic benefits for the state or the student.
Why?
Because the illegal immigrant will be unable to get a job..because he/she is in the country, well, illegally. I struggle with activists who have fought for this, are fighting for driver’s licenses amongst other items, but continue to ignore the fact that people here illegally are almost by definition 2nd and 3rd class citizens. The rights conferred to them are almost exclusively basic human rights such as the right to hospital care in an emergency or help from the fire department if their house catches fire. Being here illegally forces them to constantly look over their shoulder, take on jobs where employers can only pay under-the-table, and need a Governor to give them access to education at a price they’d receive if they were here legally.
It’s exhausting just to write! Immigration activists need to take a hard look at what’s happening to their constituents and join forces with folks like me who want to make the process of becoming legal less burdensome. Encouraging policies such as this one doesn’t serve anyone, it only creates a false sense of equality. I say false because, the illegal immigrant will be able to pay the same tuition as the legal immigrant…with the caveat that the illegal will NOT BE ABLE TO GET A JOB!!!
To me that’s not a semantic difference, Governor.
