Immigration

Judicial Watch to RIBGHE: In-State Tuition for Illegals Appears To Be “clear violation of federal law and must, therefore, be reversed”

By Monique Chartier | November 3, 2011 |

Tuesday, the RIBGHE voted to increase tuition at the three state colleges. It is very difficult not to link this increase to their vote five weeks ago to offer in-state tuition to illegal alien students. Now, with their vote Tuesday night, when the colleges go to the General Assembly for more tax dollars to cover…

In-State Tuition Raises Larger Question About Social “Investment”

By Justin Katz | November 1, 2011 |

In a Providence Journal op-ed (which now apparently inevitably means “not online”), Sandy Riojas and Daniel Harrop argue in favor of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. The first part of their argument is that President Ronald Reagan would have supported their side of the debate. As admirable and iconic as Reagan may have been, a…

The Legislative Response Rate on Tuition

By Justin Katz | October 14, 2011 |

There are two major takeaways from the Providence Journal’s poll of RI legislators on the matter of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants: 55% of senators and 37% of representatives were willing to go on the record opposing it even though there is no vote currently before them. 24% of senators and 41% of representatives didn’t…

Peter Palumbo on Legislation to Reverse In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrants

By Carroll Andrew Morse | October 6, 2011 |

At yesterday’s rally at the Rhode Island statehouse in protest of Governor Lincoln Chafee’s bypass of the legislature on various issues (in-state tution for illegal immigrants through a board decision of a public corporation, an executive order to being the process of creating healthcare “exchanges”, and possible executive action to give driver’s licenses to illegal…

The Governor’s Evasive Principles on Immigration

By Justin Katz | October 6, 2011 |

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…

Erroneous, One-Sided Public Discourse Misleads on Tuition

By Justin Katz | October 5, 2011 |

As news consumers across the nation and the globe are aware, on Monday, September 26, the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education approved a policy granting in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants who attended local high schools. As recently as this spring, the General Assembly explicitly declined to join the twelve other states…

Analyzing the Civics of the Board of Governor’s Illegal Immigrant In-State Tuition Policy Change

By Carroll Andrew Morse | October 4, 2011 |

Determining whether it was a legitimate exercise of authority for the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education to make certain illegal immigrants eligible for in-state tuition at RI public colleges and universities takes us into a murky borderland in the civic landscape occupied by “public corporations” and “quasi-public entities” that have been created…

Calculating the “Cost” of a College Student

By Justin Katz | September 29, 2011 |

In discussion of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, commenter Russ illustrates why public debate so often gets stuck in conflicting assertions and animus: …dividing the total operating costs of the University of Rhode Island by the number of full-time equivalent students suggests that the university has to make $20,615 per student. Wrong, but hey let’s…

And Now: Drivers Licenses

By Monique Chartier | September 27, 2011 |

Incrementalism is a beautiful thing. E-verify rescinded earlier this year. In-state tuition passed yesterday. Now the latest: drivers licenses. Governor Chafee said Tuesday that he is looking into the possibility that the state might issue driver’s licenses or driving permits to illegal immigrants. Responding to questions about a vote by the Board of Governors for…

In-State Tuition for Illegals, Whether You Want to Pay for It or Not

By Justin Katz | September 27, 2011 |

Last night, with the approval of RI’s chief executive, Lincoln Chafee, the Board of Governors of Higher Education decided to act in lieu of the General Assembly and implement a policy of offering illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates for the state’s public universities. That makes Rhode Island just the fourteenth state to be so generous,…