A proposal to grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants passed out of a Colorado state Senate committee this week. The bill passed 5-4 and now heads to the Senate floor.
According to the Washington Post Democrats have argued that the bill would have a positive effect on the state budget because more students would be attending state universities and thus paying tuition. Republicans counter that the state will lose money because those students would ordinarily be paying the higher out-of-state tuition rate.
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput suggests that, “Openness to immigrants is part of our national identity.” He goes on to note that, “Federal law mandates free public education K-12 for all young people in the United States regardless of their immigration status.” In essence, the Archbishop favors tuition breaks for children of illegal aliens because these kids are better off in a classroom than unsupervised on the streets.
Former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo argues that such tuition discounts is illegal because, among other things, well, the recipients are here illegally.
I’ll admit to being a bit upset about the whole thing. Our legislators are dealing with a $700 Million deficit, and serious cuts are about to be made to our state budget. There are many, many issues of extreme importance to be discussed and acted on. Giving illegal aliens a tuition discount seems not only odd – it also seems politically motivated. With the Dems in complete power here for the first time in many years, it appears they are willing to build a new base which includes illegals. After all, it isn’t a stretch to see that today’s tuition break could easily lead to tomorrow’s legislation giving illegal aliens the right to vote.
[Editor's note: The Colorado Senate rejected the bill Monday evening, while other states are reconsidering their own policies of granting instate tuition to illegal immigrants.]
