An unsigned opinion piece in The Oklahoman favors allowing illegal immigrants to attend college in Oklahoma at in-state tuition rates. The editorial refers to them five times as ‘undocumented’ but that is just a euphemism for illegal, which is what they are. The editorial takes the position that children “whose parents brought them into the United States illegally shouldn’t bear the legal or financial burden of that decision.”Also from the editorial: “Fewer than 500 undocumented students attend Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities. Not surprisingly, the school with the highest number of these students is Oklahoma City Community College, with 163. OCCC is in southwest Oklahoma City where many Hispanic families have settled in recent years. Tuition is low at OCCC and other two-year schools compared with four-year schools. Tulsa Community College, also a two-year school, reported the second-highest number of undocumented students, with 94.”
If they have exact numbers on all this then it is obviously known who these illegals are. Why are they allowed to remain here?
“Clearly, undocumented students aren’t overrunning the state’s colleges and universities.“
Why does this even matter? If they were overrunning the state’s colleges and universities would The Oklahoman suddenly not favor in-state tuition for illegals? How many would be too many?
“It makes little sense to support these students through the common education system, only to either shut the door to higher education or make it so difficult to open that many give up.“
I will agree with the first part of this sentence. It does make little sense to support these students through the common education system. I wonder if the anonymous person who wrote this editorial for The Oklahoman has any clue about the cost to Oklahoma taxpayers for illegals.
From the Federation for American Immigration Reform:
Cost to Oklahomans for illegal immigrants:
- $465 million a year spent on illegal immigration
- $246 million a year to education the children of illegal aliens
- $53.2 million a year on unreimbursed health care for illegal aliens
- $37.2 million a year on criminal justice activities for illegal aliens
- $46.3 million a year on welfare for illegal aliens
- $82.8 million a year for additional state/local operating costs
- $331 annual cost to each Oklahoma native-born headed household
Has it occurred to the anonymous author at The Oklahoman that the reason the parents bring their children here is because we spend so much money on them?
“Oklahoma needs more highly educated citizens.”
The keyword here is citizens. Illegals are NOT citizens! Turning a blind eye to illegals, brought here as children or not, cheapens the value of citizenship. Granting privileges to illegals who live here only encourages more to come and fosters disrespect for the law, which is the foundation of our society.
Oklahoma should be discouraging illegal immigration, not encouraging it by accommodating it. If parents want their children to have an education in the United States they can immigrate here legally instead of sneaking over the border and sponging off the Oklahoma taxpayers to the tune of $465 million a year.
The Oklahoman complains about “bad policy” standing in the way of these illegal students. The only bad policy I see is the one that allows them to remain here at all.
I always marvel at the reasoning that comes to the conclusion that not doing certain things amounts to us standing in the way of illegal immigrants. I mean no disrespect to them or their children, but they are here illegally. Why should we accord them any special treatment?
Would their home country give us the same “respect” if we came across the border illegally? I sincerely doubt that would be the case, but yet we are expected to just forgive the crimes they have committed? I am not in favor of doing that at all.
I always marvel at people who obviously care nothing about the law. Just by crossing our border these people are criminals, but many people don’t seem to care. I do wonder if all those people knew just how much money illegal immigrants are costing them, would they change their tune?