🚀 go-pugleaf

On 18 Dec 2006 09:55:07 -0800, "Don Gabacho" <jpastore@nettaxi.com>


 Why in the hell was in-state tuition even considered. In addition,
now is the time to round up those identified as illegals.

Max

 wrote:

>Illegals to lose in-state tuition
>Tighter policy: Regents say new Georgia law means colleges must draw
>the line.
>
>By Brian Feagans
>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
>Published on: 12/16/06
>
>High-achieving students who grew up in Georgia but are in the country
>illegally soon won't qualify for in-state tuition on state campuses.
>
>Burns Newsome, an associate vice chancellor who acts as the Board of
>Regents' attorney, has advised the presidents of Georgia's public
>universities to stop granting so-called tuition "waivers" to students
>who may have high grades but lack legal resident status. That means
>such students will have to pay the much higher out-of-state tuition
>rate.
>
>The change is necessary, Newsome says, to comply with SB 529,
>considered one of the nation's most aggressive attempts to confront
>illegal immigration at the state level. Signed into law by Gov. Sonny
>Perdue in April, the measure orders state agencies and institutions to
>make sure they are in compliance with all federal immigration laws by
>July.
>
>Newsome initially gave the advice in a May 25 position paper
>distributed to university presidents. But word has filtered down to
>recruiters, scholarship funds and immigrant advocates only lately.
>
>Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), the architect of SB 529, said he's
>pleased with the university system's interpretation of the law. It
>makes no sense to subsidize the education of students who will not be
>able to work legally upon graduation, Rogers said.
>
>He also pointed to lawsuits against states such as California and New
>York for offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. "Georgia
>doesn't need to be put through that," he said.
>
>State Sen. Sam Zamarripa (D-Atlanta), who fought SB 529, said the
>change sends a devastating message to some of the best and brightest in
>communities already suffering from soaring high school dropout rates.
>Many of the students have lived in Georgia nearly their entire lives
>but know their families can't pay out-of-state tuition rates, he said.
>
>"It's unconscionable to punish children for the sins of their parents,"
>Zamarripa said. "This initiative is essentially going after kids that
>are more Georgian than anybody who has moved here in the past five
>years. They like boiled peanuts. They like southern rock. They like the
>Braves."
>
>It's unclear how many students will be directly affected. The
>university system doesn't track the number of illegal immigrants
>attending state universities. And records at individual institutions
>are often spotty.
>
>Georgia State University currently grants waivers to roughly 10
>students who don't have legal U.S. residency, said DeAnna Hines, a
>spokeswoman for the university in downtown Atlanta. But that will end
>in July to comply with the legal advice from the regents, she said.
>Out-of-state tuition is $7,785 per semester, or about four times the
>in-state rate of $1,946.
>
>Some of the state's smaller schools will feel the effects, too. Dalton
>State College, Gainesville College and Southern Polytechnic State
>University have acknowledged granting in-state tuition to undocumented
>students in the past.
>
>The University of Georgia, however, has never given such waivers,
>spokesman Tom Jackson said. Illegal immigrants, who numbered 14 last
>spring, are charged at the out-of-state rate, he said.
>
>Newsome, the regents' attorney, said SB 529 prompted the regents to
>review its waiver policy, which allows universities to grant in-state
>tuition to about 2 percent of the student body. Waivers can go to
>international students, military personnel and other special cases.
>Newsome concluded that people in the country illegally should no longer
>qualify. "There is so much immigration law that is not enforced by the
>federal government," Newsome said. "One thing [SB 529] did was ... tell
>state agencies to enforce federal law."
>
>Newsome said there's a growing consensus that in-state tuition
>constitutes the kind of "assistance" banned for illegal immigrants
>under federal law. But some states, such as California and New York,
>maintain the lower tuition rates are legal. "This question has never
>gone to a federal court," Newsome said. "... It's left to people like
>me to read the tea leaves."
>
>Ten states offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, according to
>the National Council of La Raza. Several of them have faced lawsuits
>from U.S. citizens who are paying out-of-state tuition rates, however.
>
>Jagdish Patel, a member of the PTSA board at Meadowcreek High near
>Norcross, said he supports the university system's new stance. Those
>who followed legal channels to enter the United States shouldn't see
>their tax dollars subsidizing the higher education of those who did
>not, said Patel, a naturalized U.S. citizen from India. "Those who are
>the children of legal parents must get first chance -- no matter
>what."
>
>Imelda Hernandez, executive director of the Roswell-based Celia &
>Marcos Scholarship Fund, said it's communities such as Norcross that
>will lose if standout students lose hope. "We're trying to prevent
>students from dropping out of high school," Hernandez said, "and now
>this."
>
>Hernandez said she was shocked to hear of Georgia's policy change
>during a recent meeting at Valdosta State University. Several college
>recruiters were talking about how to increase Hispanic enrollment in
>Georgia universities when one stood up and waved the regents' position
>paper in the air.
>
>Hernandez said many of the fund's 15 scholarships go to students
>relying on tuition waivers. She fears some will have to drop out of
>college in July.
>
>Hernandez and other immigrant advocates are hoping for federal help.
>Backers of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors
>(DREAM) Act believe the incoming Democratic-controlled Congress will be
>more likely to pass it. The act would make illegal immigrants raised in
>the United States eligible for in-state tuition. The proposal also
>would make them eligible for federal aid such as Pell grants, which are
>now off-limits to people in the country illegally.