North Carolina Keeps Its Community Colleges Illegal Immigrants Ban
The board that governs North Carolina's 58 community colleges has voted to keep in place a ban on illegal immigrants but delay a permanent policy until it completes a study of how other states handle such students. The decision, reached on August 15, has hardly appeased folks on either side of the debate. Both supporters of an open-door policy and opponents of illegal immigration denounced the decision as a political play by members of the state board, including Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the Democratic candidate for governor, who made the motion to keep the ban while a study is ongoing. Perdue has been unavailable for comment, but other board members have said that their decision was not politically motivated.
Last week, U.S. News reported on undocumented students who are caught between conflicting immigration policies. In North Carolina, the community colleges have been flip-flopping on whether to admit undocumented students for years. Of the estimated 300,000 students enrolled in the state's community colleges in 2006-07, only 112 were illegal immigrants, according to the results of one survey. Jacqueline, a North Carolina undocumented student who spoke with U.S. News, can continue her studies. The ban affects only new applicants who are illegal immigrants—whose future is now even more uncertain.
Tags: North Carolina | college admissions | colleges | community colleges | immigration | students | education
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illegal immigrants
What will happen to the children who are brought to the united states by thier illegal parents? These children are raised with americans and adopt this country as thier own. What future will these childen have? With America closing their community colleges doors to illegals... there is no future here for these children that were brought here at a very young age. These children are going to school, and they do wish to continue thier education in order to better off their families to pay back the hard work their parents did for them so they can have better opportunities in this country. Just because illegals come here with out permission it does not mean they are criminals or deliquents... they are just looking for a better life that many americans take for granted by throwing away great opportunites.
America is for Americans?
"{previous comments edited out} Bottom line is that America is for Americans and legal immigrants who spend thousands of dollars on lawyers and fees to INS to come here legally"
America is for Americans? Now, there's a nice catch-phrase, but when one ponders over it outside of the emotional content, it really carries no weight. Just who exactly are these "Americans" that you talk of? Citizens? Green card holders? Student visa holders? Work visa holders?
How quickly we forget that just a generation ago, it was "some other group" that was being blasted for "turning America into something other than America" (or something like that), and this sort of thing simply repeats every couple decades. Take a moment and realize that education is the way to a productive life in society, and then consider how much improvement would come from many, many productive lives in society... and the obvious benefits are seen. One can take the principled argument and rail against illegal immigrants, but when considered in the proper, long-term context (historical and future), it is abundantly clear that such a narrow view is, er...., narrow and somewhat self-defeating.
College Bans Immigrants
I'm praying and hoping this ban does get lifted. As a high school student I've seen many of my illegal immigrant friends work twice as hard as any other student. The have a desire and passion in there heart to do better in this country of the "free". They want to take the opportunites available but are unable because of their legal status. Some american students would rather work at McDonalds for the rest of their life than take the college challenge and immigrants students just want an opportunity. We're the "united" states and personally where anyone comes from shouldn't be the reason for them to fail or to successed in this country. I'm not an immigrant but I am a proud Mexican American.
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