October 6, 2011

The Governor's Evasive Principles on Immigration

Justin Katz

It's been a few weeks since he made it, but I didn't want to let Governor Chafee's statement on in-state tuition for illegal immigrants go without comment:

"I have long been a supporter of efforts to encourage college attendance among students who, through no fault of their own, do not have full residency status," Chafee said.

He continued: "All that separates these young people from the thousands of other students who gain entry to Rhode Island's public colleges and universities each year is the place where they were born -- a factor none of us can control."

Place of birth is in no sense the issue; plenty of people not born in the United States have made their way to Rhode Island in such a way as to be eligible for in-state tuition. At issue, with immigration, is the right of the people of the United States to regulate the flow of foreigners into their country. That cannot be accomplished by walls and force alone, so it is critical to temper the lure of illegal entry by reducing the benefits that its practitioners seek to acquire and increasing the difficulty of operation within the country for those who have come here through improper channels.

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"...so it is critical to temper the lure of illegal entry by reducing the benefits that its practitioners seek to acquire..."

So you'd also kick these children out of elementary and secondary schools? Let's me honest about the world you imagine for these kids.

Posted by: Russ at October 6, 2011 9:34 AM

"All that separates these young people from the thousands of other students who gain entry to Rhode Island's public colleges and universities each year is the place where they were born -- a factor none of us can control."

This statement is completely false.

The whole world - literally - can attend Rhode Island's state colleges and university, subject to academic standards and admissions procedures.

The issue at hand is who should receive markedly lower in-state tution rates - rates which are subsidized by state taxpayers.

Can advocates only discuss this matter behind falsehoods?

Posted by: Monique at October 6, 2011 3:15 PM

Monique, you can pretend that an out-of-state tuition is affordable for the majority of these kids, but that doesn't make it so. Let's at least be honest about that.

And again, you're wrong. Tax payers subsidize all students at our colleges/universities at the same rate without regard to residency. You clearly know that by now but chose to ignore it. Wonder why that is?

Posted by: Russ at October 6, 2011 4:21 PM

"And again, you're wrong. Tax payers subsidize all students at our colleges/universities at the same rate without regard to residency."

Only if you use the most dishonest accounting methods imaginable and ignore the fact that there is an obvious opportunity cost to giving a larger percentage of students in-state tuition, which would otherwise offset much of the subsidization. Stick with the compassion angle, Russ - your argument that it will not cost the taxpayers anything is logically indefensible.

Posted by: Dan at October 6, 2011 6:08 PM

Russ doesn't get it-these children can't be "kicked out"of K-12 education at public expense because a Supreme Court decision says they can't.
We aren't obligated to give them another damn thing and we shouldn't.
Anyway,once they graduate high school,they're not "children".
If we use passive means such as e-Verify,denial of any benefits and denial of non emergency free medical care,these people will have to leave on their own.
We can continue proactive means to apprehend criminal aliens.
I'm sure Russ has some bullsh*t crying towel for the criminal aliens also.

Posted by: joe bernstein at October 6, 2011 8:50 PM

"If we use passive means such as e-Verify,denial of any benefits and denial of non emergency free medical care,these people will have to leave on their own."

YES. That's all we are asking.

And quite simply, there is no reason not to implement these very reasonable, minimal steps.

Posted by: Monique at October 6, 2011 9:42 PM


I think we are in the first stages of ethnic cleansing and perhaps genocide. That is against us, the American people.

Look up the definitions according to International law. Deliberately replacing one ethic or racial group with another,preventing one group from obtaining the means of life. Such as employment.

Maybe I'm just too gloomy?

Posted by: helen at October 7, 2011 11:31 PM

Well,Russ,what was the world that was imagined for my grandparents,my parents and my husband and me? Nobody was all upset about whether or not any of us to go to college. I guess maybe we all are children of a lesser god,huh. We just didn't rate in the larger business economic plan of it all. Nobody gave a damn if we and our forbears sweated our lives out in factories for piss poor wages.

Now we are expected to pay for whiny little,illegal alien entitlement brats, brazen in their proclamation of their lawlessness, to have what our grandparents,parents and many of us couldn't have.

How come they aren't begging to join the military and go overseas to fight in the war instead of crying about paying in state tuition?

How can an illegal alien,who cannot legally work in this country afford college tuition?

Posted by: helen at October 8, 2011 6:46 PM
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