Children of Immigrants Suffer, Too – Part 4
Should college education be denied?
According to Susan Ferriss of The Sacramento Bee, illegal immigrants constitute less than 1% of students enrolled in California colleges. This miniscule number of undocumented immigrants is currently the subject of heated debate between the candidates for the California Gubernatorial election. In particular, Republican Steve Poizner takes an adamant position against illegal immigrants, even stating that students K-12 should be barred from public education.
The fact is that 65,000 illegal immigrants that have resided in the United States for at least five years graduate from high school each year according to Jeffrey Passel of the non-partisan Pew Hispanic Center. Some of these students qualify to pay in-state tuition if they reside in one of the ten states, including California, that offer such programs. However, all illegal immigrants are denied any public benefits, loans, or grants. Thus, even if these undocumented immigrants are removed, there are only minimal benefits to the state.
Furthermore, some of these students came to the United States at a young age and were educated through the American public school system. Many are also very assimilated into the American culture and simply want a chance to live the American dream. Is it right to deny them the opportunities that are taken for granted by everyone else?
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Citations
Bazar, Emily. (2009, Dec 22). Groups try to delay deportations of illegal immigrant students. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-12-15-deport_N.htm
Ferriss, Susan. (2010, April 2). Illegal immigrants less than 1 percent of California college enrollment. The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved from http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/01/2648006/illegal-immigrants-less-than-1.html
Sacchetti, Maria. (2009, May 17). From in-crown to out. Boston.com. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/05/17/from_in_crowd_to_out/?page=1