Posted on 10/01/2011 10:43:51 PM PDT by American Dream 246
Matt Lewis says he’s improving on this issue. I guess, but that’s mainly because after you’ve tried to win over voters by calling them heartless, there’s really nowhere to go but up. A scene from New Hampshire this morning:
“We have, for decades, had a federal government that has absolutely failed in its constitutional duty to defend our border,” Perry said.
“I’m a governor. I don’t have the pleasure of standing on the stage and criticizing. I have to deal with these issues,” he later added.
Perry continued, “In 2001, we had this choice: Are we going to kick these children over to the curb and say you cannot have access to college? Because the fact of the matter is there’s no way they could pay the out-of-state tuition. And are we going to have them on the government dole over here because they’re not educated? Or are we going to have them in our institutions of higher learning, paying in state tuition, pursuing citizenship?”…
David Connors, the man who asked Perry the in-state tuition question, said he was satisfied with the governor’s answer.
Really? There are no jobs for illegals anywhere in Texas to earn tuition money? I was under the impression that there are quite a lot of jobs available to them, especially since Perry opposes e-Verify. This is the same sleight of hand he tried to use in the debate answer that got him in trouble, equating illegals’ opportunity to go to school in Texas with some sort of moral imperative among taxpayers to subsidize their education. (His wife, campaigning for him in Iowa, framed the choice as between tuition subsidies or welfare.) Somehow, the impoverished U.S. citizen from Mississippi is expected to pay his own way in Austin but the illegal who’s lived in Texas for three years gets a stipend from the locals. And not just in terms of lower tuition rates; apparently they qualify for financial aid too. It must be awfully confusing for Perry, as a “Texas Gaullist” and vocal champion of state sovereignty, to find that prioritizing state residency over national citizenship doesn’t play well with grassroots conservatives outside of Texas itself, but he’d better find clarity soon.
Here’s Romney’s new ad bludgeoning Perry with praise he once received from former Mexican President Vicente Fox. After you watch, read this amusing scolding (which notes some of Mitt’s own immigration heresies) from former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson, who seems genuinely surprised that Romney would pander so shamelessly on a divisive issue simply to destroy an opponent. That was the old, soulless Romney. The new, soulful Romney should be above that sort of thing. Right?
In-state tuition is just a lower tuition rate that a student pays if they are a resident of the state the college is located. Now, there are channels by which a student can get help in their tuition. All students can apply for scholarships, grants, student loans, and other methods to make the cost of education less of a burden. Most of the time such aid is given based upon the student's scholarship in high school. A 4.0 high school student will have many doors open to them. Colleges compete for such exceptional students and it should not matter what race they are.
You might ask, why should our students who are citizens lose the opportunity for a college grant to a non citizen? The answer is that if an education serves no purpose, then there is no reason to educate the child in the first place.
Finally, this nastiness about educating children of illegal parents is showing an unfairness that I have never seen in our culture. Never have we penalized the children for the bad actions of the parents. If anything, we have taken children away from parents who were bad enough. What this does is paint a bad picture of conservatives. There is a better way to handle this and the American people are looking at conservatives as not for the children.
Secure the border and deport the illegals. Texas has been trying to achieve this since long before we passed the law to prevent the children of illegals from attending our schools in the first place. It would be much better to keep them out.
Unfortunately, we don't have, and never have had, a Federal government willing to do this. Governor Perry knows what it's like to fight and fight and then to be refused help and reimbursement that was promised:
The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) is a case study in the refusal of the federal government to do its job at our borders. SCAAP was created in 1994 to reimburse states for part of the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants who commit crimes.
Naturally, however, SCAAP is more window dressing than real policy, as it is woefully underfunded. A study commission by the United States/Mexico Border Counties Coalition found that in 2006, border counties in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas on the Mexican border received a total of only $4.7 million in SCAAP reimbursements, representing 9 percent of the costs of handling illegal immigrants who committed state crimes. Among just those border counties in Texas, the reimbursement rate was a mere 3 percent. The reimbursement rate is so low that some counties do not even apply for funding because it is not worth the cost of paperwork.
This is a joke. Arizona governor Jan Brewer has calculated that her state alone is owed &700 million in SCAAP funds since2003. Former Arizona governor Janet Napolitano wrote in 2008 that “as governor, I must enforce the law and pay to incarcerate these individuals. The federal government just shrugs its shoulders and walks away from its statutory obligation” Now serving as President Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security, she has not persuaded the federal government to step up to the plate. The bottom line is that while our federal officials jealously claim exclusive authority over immigration and border policy, they avoid actually securing the border. While they mandate that state taxpayers provide services, they rarely confront any of the associated costs. In so doing, the federal Government refuses to fulfill its most basic constitutional responsibilities. (pp. 121-122)
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A grand, bipartisan compromise on immigration similar to the failed 1986 law was attempted in both 2006 and 2007. In the end, the bill died, largely because the American people had been to this rodeo before. According to an ABC News poll taken in the heat of the debate in 2007, two-thirds of Americans did not believe Congress was serious about controlling illegal immigration.
Now, the current administration willfully refuses to enforce the laws on the books. While President Bush didn’t do as much as I had hoped, his administration did step up workplace enforcement, reducing the enticement for illegal immigration. President Obama on the other hand, has reversed course. He also has intentionally undermined one of the few successful measures the federal government has implemented. Section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows the deputization” of local law enforcement after training from federal authorities so that they may process illegal immigrants detained in the course of law enforcement activities for removal. This program simply allows local officials to aid Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the application of our laws.
Bowing to pressure from interest groups in favor of unchecked illegal immigration , the Obama administration has instead issued new requirements intended to curtail the program by making it more expensive, among other things. So the Federal government is now manipulating successful programs to stop willing local jurisdictions from doing the federal government’s job themselves. (pp. 122-123)
(footnotes on this part refer to the explanation about Section 287 (g) at http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/03/time-to-stop-the-rush-for-amnesty-immigration-reform Perry, Rick (2010-11-15). Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington . Little, Brown and Company. Kindle Edition.
Most people realize life isn't "fair" by the time they graduate high school, the rest vote democrat.
Here is the reality of the situation.
Funds are limited.
That means only so many students are able to get into schools at the in state rate.
THATS NOT FAIR.
Children of illegals get to claim minority status over those who aren't. So ALL ELSE being equal, minority status isn't.
THATS NOT FAIR
Illegals are more likely to work lower paying jobs, meaning THEY CAN'T PAY for Jrs. education. So now, because they are low income AND a minority, they qualify for grants and loans that don't have to be paid back.
THATS NOT FAIR.
Oh yeah, that grant that the illegals child got, that was partially funded by the taxes of parents of the citizen who can't go to school because the illegal took his spot.
THATS NOT FAIR
While senor and senorita illegal work in this country, maybe for cash, and don't pay taxes, they'll also go to the ER when ever they get sick, and get free healthcare. Joe citizen works hard, pays his taxes (which go for government schools and grants) and then buys his own health insurance with the money left over, and pays a deductible out of his pocket when his family gets sick.
THATS NOT FAIR.
At every turn Joe citizen does whats right and whats required. He pays his taxes and pays his bills and pays the way of his family. AND IS PENALIZED.
THATS NOT FAIR.
Jose Illegal comes into this country illegally, thumbing his nose at our laws, pays little or no taxes. And yet sponges off our welfare system. And then is rewarded with free education for his child.
THATS NOT FAIR.
Like I said earlier, there is limited funds. Whether for in state tuitions or grants or loans. That means some get in and some don't. Because of this, those who are citizens of this country, who are in state residents, who do pay into the system, THEY ARE THE ONES who should get ALL the available spots FIRST.
THEN, IF there is anything left over, THEN the child of the illegal can have access.
THAT IS ONLY "FAIR"
I never said they were grads or school kids, they were illegals, adults and mostly male and arrogant enough to make demands on this country...Since your post was so long and my attention span is rather short at 5 am I didn’t read past your first paragraph. So thats all I will answer....But you made an assumption on what I wrote that I didn’t write....try reading what is written and not what you think is written...GG
1000? and 15,000 illegals in tech and community colleges?
Did you think that’s low? That’s maybe 1% of the number of illegal children? Add the parents and the 10X more singles and you’ve got yourself a real problem.
Perry really should just stop talking about illegals and talk about other conservative things he’s done. He’s losing the conservatives that aren’t Texans.
Bull! It’s their parent’s fault. No one forced them to come here, they came illegally of their own free will and had children of their own free will. I’m sick to death of people not taking responsibility for themselves. American children born of American citizens have parents who commit crime and go to jail. That has a terribly adverse affect on these children. But it’s not the fault of the state whose laws were violated. This is no different. Either we enforce our laws or quit pretending we have them.
Cindie
What about children whose parent committed a crime (well any crime except immigration laws which it seems exist merely to be ignored) the state throws daddy or mommy’s ass in jail which also “punishes” the child. That’s not the kids fault any more than mommy & daddy coming here illegally. Shouldn’t we find a way to appease & coddle these children as well? Life is never fair, but it’s good. There are children who lose a parent, have cancer, liver disease, abuse, molestation, or some other thing children shouldn’t ever have to face.
Parents that choose to break the law choose to put their children at risk, not the state.
Cindie
To take a step back and view the big picture: Of 1.3 million college students in Texas in 2010, 1.2 percent (16,476) were illegal immigrants receiving tuition breaks through the affidavit route. (The even bigger picture: Texas’ 1.65 million illegal immigrants made up 6.7 percent of the state’s total population in 2010, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.)
Stated another way, only 1 percent of Texas’ illegal immigrants got the in-state rates in 2010. And of those, 73 percent got an average reduction of $2,600 or less; the remaining 27 percent average closer to $10,000 per year.
So let’s return to Romney’s statement: "Four years of college, almost $100,000 discount if you are an illegal alien (and) go to the University of Texas."
For the 612 affidavit students at the University of Texas last year, Romney’s figure of $22,000 per year is approximately correct, even a bit low; but quadrupling the real average adds up to $90,800 over four years, not $100,000.
Not only is that UT tuition break the very highest that Romney could have cited among Texas public universities, it went to only 4 percent of the illegal immigrants who received in-state tuition rates last year.
The vast majority of affidavit students in Texas last year got an average in-state tuition reduction of $1,600 to $2,600. If they got that rate for four years, the total "discount" would be $6,400 to $10,400. And that group of 12,028 community college affidavit students made up less than 1 percent of the 1,364,911 college students enrolled in Texas last year.
Romney’s $100,000 figure is only $9,200 off the mark for the University of Texas, but with 73 percent of affidavit students receiving $10,400 or less over four years, his choice to use UT as an example gives a skewed representation of the reality of illegal immigrants seeking college education in Texas…..”
Since Hispanics get preferences in admission to Texas colleges, illegals get preferences for scholarship funds over legal nonminority Texans.
And that IMO is absolutely indefensible.
Whadda a load of crap! Have you become ‘heartless’ or lost your mind?
Seems that every significant issue Perry talks about — be it amnesty or e-verify — comes in 31 Baskin Robbins flavors. So by alluding to a particular flavor he can say he is either for it or against it.
Your post is spot on about the negligence of the federal government in their constitutional duty to secure our borders. We would not have the impact of the illegal population in our cities if the federal government did not do their job. Governor Perry has said that Texas has spent $400 million in border security as a desperate effort to prevent a catastrophe. That is money the state of Texas could use for better things.
Because the border is not secure, the illegals come in, creating problems for themselves, society and their children. We are experiencing what our forefathers experienced when Micks, Squareheads, Japs, Wops and etc (I used the derogatory nicknames to show how bad the reactions) disrupted American society when they poured off the boats. There must be a logical process to deal with the situation and the first step in that process is to seal our borders. We can deport them until the cows come home if we don’t stop them at the border. And how we react to the situation can give us a bad image as conservatives.
I went to greatschools dot org and this is the page for Houston
http://www.greatschools.org/search/search.page?state=TX&q=houston&type=school
Then I went to Houston Elementary School, it is rated a 5 out of 10
http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/tx/other/1572#toc
94 percent Hispanic, 48 percent state average Hispanic
91 percent economically disadvantaged
$7,535 per year cost of each student
91 percent economically disadvantaged? Is this the governor we want for a president?
I’ll check out another school, looks like they are all named Houston Elementary School.
Rated 4 out of 10
95 percent Hispanic
88 percent economically disadvantaged
I’ll check out Houston High School
http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/tx/other/6012#toc
Rated 3 out of 10
39 percent Hispanic, 3 percent white
91 percent economically disadvantaged
Dang, doesn’t look like Houston is doing so good with the economically disadvantaged.
I want this guy as my president…Not!
Quoting Perry on giving in-state tuition to illegals:*** Is this guy brain-dead? *** YES. This proves it.
“How else were they supposed to pay for it?”
That is, undoubtedly, the MOST STOO-PID™ answer I have ever, EVER, heard on illegals and college tuition freebies.
Really. Even the RATS who control my 'wunnerful Ill-ear-noise' didn't say something that DUMB when they shoved in state tuitionfor illegals down our throats. And if an IL river-RAT politician couldn't think of something that ASININE to say, you know it's really, really, fricken dumb!
Honestly, this guy should just go away. He's an embarrassment to himself, republicans, and .. the human race.
(I think my 4 y.o. Yellow Lab has a higher IQ than Perry, and I'm series. Perry makes Biden look like Einstein)
You left out the welfare paid to these foreign nationals that get a reduced in-state tuition fee.
Hi,
I found that site by accident a few years ago, and IMO it is fantastic. You can tell more about a city, state, or even a Rep's District, from the info on that website than from all the BS shoveled by any/all politicians combined.
I usually run to it when the race hustlers start the nonsense about 'inner city schools' not getting enough money compared to the suburbs. And natch, they're always lying.
Your rant is not too far off the mark, although it is all over the map. However, the States can’t deport any one. We can’t refuse to educate kids from Kindergarten through 12th grade, we can’t refuse emergency room care.
And the Feds are not deporting many. They actually bring illegals to Texas and send them over the border from our small towns, like Presidio and Del Rio. They have set up 11 Immigration and Customs detention centers in Texas for criminals they import from other states. They practice “catch and release,” letting the illegals go when they’ve been caught, and tell them to come back for a *hearing.* But over the last year or so, the DOJ dumped over 300,000 of those cases, dismissing the hearing and the not even trying to deport the illegals.
Now, if we can’t get the criminals who are actually in the system deported, what do you think the Feds will do about the 17 or 18 year old who gets into college?
I paid for mine by working 2-3 part time jobs, living in slum housing and eating a lot of pasta. That might still work if one is motivated.
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