A monumental decision earlier this month by the California State Supreme Court suggested that while the state may be headed for utter fiscal ruin, basic principle and logic are not headed toward a similar abyss.
The court unanimously overturned an appellate court’s ruling to bar illegal immigrants from receiving in-state tuition. California and nine other states are the only in the country that give out this residency status to illegal immigrants.
This decision suggests the need for the DREAM Act or similar legislation to pass.
It also is evidence of the schism that is increasingly widening among states. Arizonans need little reminder of the fact that if Washington refuses to address immigration concerns, states will make important decisions in Congress’ void.
Last month, Georgia joined South Carolina in becoming the second state to ban illegal immigrants from attending some of its public universities. Georgia picked its five most selective schools, basically telling illegal immigrants in the state that they are welcome to choose from the “best of the rest.”
The precedent set in California should compel civil rights groups and illegal immigrants in these and other states to advocate for receiving the same tuition rates that their high school peers enjoy.
InsideHigherEd.com presented possible consequences for students in California if the decision were not overturned.
“Since these students are ineligible for most federal and state aid, and they typically are not wealthy, many educators in the state feared that the earlier appellate court ruling would result in their being effectively kicked out of college.”
Preventing illegal immigrants from access to higher education is illogical and counterproductive. People who want to get an education in America should not be barred from doing so due to financial constraints. The talents, abilities and vast potential of students who seek a higher education are needed now more than ever.
More time should be given to letting these students pursue entrepreneurial ideas or finding ways to solve the challenges that face all of us. This would be far more beneficial to society than confining our illegal immigrants — many of whom came here on their parents’ accord — to a lesser education.
Advocates against allowing in-state tuition for those who want to attend public universities in their own states argue that because these peoples are not citizens, they cannot be granted the same benefits allotted to Americans. It is similar thinking that prevents pragmatic solutions on immigration reform.
In an ideal world, border control, security and policy would negate any need for addressing the issues faced by millions of illegal immigrants in the United States; but we do not live in that world.
Students who graduate from high school and want to attend college should be encouraged, rather than prohibited from doing so. Rejecting them hurts our and future generations of students eager for a college-level education and the chance for a better life. Restricting illegal immigrants from either attaining equal tuition status as their peers or from attending college is a mistaken and potentially devastating policy for these unfortunate students.
Reach the reporter at Zachary.Levin-Epstein@asu.edu
