Illegal Immigrants Get College Funding in Illinois

Several weeks ago, I posted about illegal immigrants being able to qualify for tuition assistance in California. Illinois has adopted a similar law.

Granted, this assistance in Illinois is not coming directly from state coffers, but then again, that’s not quite true. The new law is called the Dream Act, which appoints a nine-member commission to oversee a private scholarship fund. To qualify, a student must have attended and received a high school diploma from an Illinois school, and have at least one parent who immigrated to this country.

In addition, the law allows illegal alien families for the first time to participate in the state’s two tuition savings programs as another source of college funding. This law also requires, yes requires, school counselors to take training on ways to help undocumented – read, illegal – students find ways to fund college.

Defenders and supporters of this law say this is a great boon to immigrants who might otherwise not be able to afford college. They also state this is a private scholarship, meaning funding is not coming from the state.

Now let’s take a look at some of these statements in the light of reality. The government is appointing a nine-member commission to oversee this program. Where is the money for these appointees, and the support personnel, for this commission coming from?

If this is a private endeavor, why is the government involved at all? Who is going to pay for the schools counselor’s mandated training? And where is that training going to take place? A state-funded school? What about the costs associated with tracking the compliance with this new batch of training?

If the government is going to allow families who are here illegally to save for college in the state’s tuition funding programs, isn’t that tacit acceptance and permission for these people to be and remain here? Then again, the state already acknowledges students who are undocumented, and spends a lot of time and resources on assisting them with a variety of programs.

The sponsors of this law, and those who have spoken out in favor of it, have noted this is only the first step for these students. They correctly note that without a proper, legal right to be in this country, they will be unable to work, no matter how well educated they become.

Let me say this again, they see the Dream Act as just the first step. I do feel sorry for the children of these criminals. These people have chosen to bring their children to a place where their very existence makes them felons. They have no legal rights, and must live in fear that they could be sent to a country they may not even remember.

They don’t belong here, and feel they don’t belong there, wherever there is. Their parents have made them non-entities, existing in a legal, moral and ethical limbo. This is truly tragic.

The answer, however, is not to reward the parents. True, the children do and will suffer, but the blame for their suffering rests squarely and solely on the shoulders of their parents. And the pandering politicians who are attempting to skirt federal law and rewrite immigration policy.

Federal law is quite clear on this subject. Students may not benefit from tuition assistance if they are not legal residents of this country. But like in the California case, qualification for the Illinois program is not based on the student’s residency status, merely their attendance and graduation from a state school.

In California, a lawsuit was filed to block implementation of the new law, but it failed. The scope of the ruling in that case recognized that because the program was not based on residency, there was no conflict with federal law.

Perhaps it is time for a suit here in Illinois. I am not a lawyer, nor do I know how to properly frame a suit that will hold up. I truly hope someone with the requisite skills does so, and soon.