Schooling Undocumented Immigrants

As Washington prepares to train its fire on the issue of immigration, North Carolina has taken a step toward allowing undocumented immigrants -- at their own expense -- to attend community college here.

The State Community College Board cast a final vote Friday to admit illegal immigrants at the 58 community college campuses. Illegal immigrants will have to pay out-of-state tuition, about $7,700 a year, and they can be removed from a class if it is full and a legal resident wants in.

The last count I saw showed all of 112 such students across the state, enough to prompt then-Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue -- now governor -- to express her opposition to allowing them to attend the colleges at all.

The out-of-state tuition requirement is purely punitive (like using police resources to arrest and deport immigrants for minor traffic violations), and immigrants' allies hope the decision to charge them high tuition will be repealed. But just as likely, I fear, is that the state legislature will instead overturn the Community College Board. The guy from Americans for Legal Immigration PAC is not satisfied with the out-of-state tax:

"This is a bad vote. It's part of a much larger national agenda. There's an agenda afoot here, and they intend to give [illegal immigrants] all the benefits of full American citizens."

To the charge of wanting everyone to have access to a basic college education, I would have to plead guilty.

There is also the problem of the jobs the students will be able to get. As one opponent wrote, "What are these illegal immigrants being trained for?  Jobs that they cannot legally obtain."

Hopefully the same slippery slope that leads to legal employment would also lead to the extension of human rights to migrant workers, some of whom report wage theft and gender discrimination in their "guest-worker" jobs in North Carolina.

Cross posted from the Family Inequality blog.

 

Comments

[EloiseKerr]

07:25 PM on 03/27/2010

Mr. Cohen, a bigger problem than our supposed lack of moral vision might be the justification of illegality perpetuated by people like you. Was being born in America an accomplishment, no, but born here we were. We're allowed to be proud to be American. We're allowed to protect what's ours. We're allowed, by law, to tell our government, both state and federal, where we'd like our tax dollars spent. I want my tax dollars to be spent on Americans and legal residents. That's why, despite my lack of moral vision, I wholeheartedly supported health care reform. I get your patronizing tone, and I understand what it's like to be closeted away in academia. In the real world however, your fellow Americans are suffering. If ever there was a time to put the interests of Americans and legal residents first, this is it. And since when was a college education a right?

[Philip N. Cohen]

10:43 AM on 03/27/2010

The moral vision displayed in these comments is a problem. Americans get a lot of benefits for being American, most of them not as a result of any accomplishment of their own. Whatever you have achieved on your own merits, the accident of being born American contributed a lot, too. Yet that appears to be earned or justified, so that people who weren't born American don't have a right to it. This is not just nationalism ("our country's just plain better," to quote an old country radio station jingle) - but selfish nationalism ("we're rich and that's good -- for us!").

Well, I'm glad we're having this little chat - thanks!

[nee]

02:01 PM on 03/27/2010

Immigrants come here LEGALLY every day. ILLEGAL ALIENS are here ILLEGALLY and are sucking our systems dry. This has nothing to do with "we're rich and that's good" it has everything to do with going through the LEGAL channels and doing what is RIGHT. ILLEGAL ALIENS are the ones being "selfish". There are thousands of people waiting in line to LEGALLY come here and ILLEGALS push their way in and expect special treatment.
Mr. Cohen try living in a city that has been taken over by ILLEGAL ALIENS and then get back to us. It's real easy sitting in Chapel Hill. Why not go to the countries that are sending us their poor and protest their treatment over there? I know, I know -- too much work - it's much easier telling us what to do from the ivory tower you live in.

[bradwhg]

03:33 PM on 03/27/2010

Do you own a house Mr. Cohen? Do you own a car? Do you lock them up? Why?

[Menkerios]

01:24 AM on 04/30/2010

"Why not go to the countries that are sending us their poor and protest their treatment over there?"

Mr.Cohen had better check his documentation twice before visiting. The immigration laws in Mexico, for one, make ours look like bingo rules.

I can understand illegals, or citizens/green card holders with relatives here illegally, protesting laws like Arizonas. It's in their interest.
When the Mexican president does, it's the height of hypocrisy.

[bradwhg]

03:30 PM on 03/27/2010

The moral vision? Who appointed you the authority on morals? Illegal aliens have and will continue to abuse the generosity of this country until the citizens stop them. It is not just about being born in this country there is a history. The citizens of this country have ancestors that sacrificed blood, sweat and material wealth to create what we have today. It wasn't just given to us, we inherited it from past generations. Our blood lines created this country, defended this country and made it what it is today. You can call us nativists or nationalists, but so what? What is the opposite? A globalist!
The American people as a whole are the most generous and welcoming of almost any country on the planet. We legally allow over 1.5 million people to immigrate here every year. But that is some how not enough for people like you. You seem to believe that what we have made or earned for ourselves (this country), we should share with those who violate our laws.

There are a lot of countries on this planet that have failed to take advantage of their resources and abilities That is not the people of this countries fault.

[nee]

09:36 AM on 03/27/2010

ILLEGAL ALIENS, at their own expense, should attend colleges in their own countries. They need to go back to their countries and get an education and work THERE! We have MORE THAN ENOUGH AMERICAN CITIZENS and LEGAL immigrants who need to go to college and find jobs HERE.
It is ILLEGAL for ILLEGAL ALIENS to work here or go to college here PERIOD.

[DelawareBob]

10:34 PM on 03/26/2010

Why should Americans school illegal alien children? Yes. Why? Why can't they be schooled in their own Country where they belong. Why is this cost passed on to the American taxpayers? Yes, Why?

Illegal aliens are destroying this Country, and one would have to be almost blind not to see this. How much longer do we have to support these illegal aliens? How much longer do we have to school their illegal alien children? How much longer are we going to let them have our jobs? How much longer are we going to put up with all the crime, stolen identities, forged documents, fake green cards? How much longer are we going to allow these illegal aliens to send money out of this Country and bring our Country down? Oh, amnesty will correct all this. WRONG! Nothing will change except we wouldn't be able to call them illegal aliens any more. Let's get rid of these illegal aliens! Let's get them back to their own Country where they belong!

I'm from Delaware, and we are pressing to get the Oklahoma State Illegal Immigration Law, HB 1804, passed here in Delaware. Three years ago we had about 32,000 illegal aliens here. Today we have about 68,000 illegal aliens here. We have had it! We want our State back!

Is California ready for a State Illegal Immigration Law to get rid of the 3 million illegal aliens?

[EloiseKerr]

09:38 AM on 03/26/2010

These illegal aliens don't need a student visa to attend to college unlike other foreign students, so of course they're getting special treatment already. To suggest out of state tuition is punitive is a disgrace. If all Americans can't get reduced tuition, why should a foreigner?