California Supreme Court to Take On Discounted Tuition for Illegal Immigrants

Reader Comments
Back to blog

These kids are not receiving a gift - they are paying tuition and working hard to get educated. How much taxes does any child pay to the state??? I'm sure those get educated will be paying taxes as U.S. citizens and contributing plenty to society. Therefore, the "gift" argument is asinine. I've heard that 5% of the population makes 95% of the money. Since they're in a higher tax bracket, they must pay more than 95% of the total taxes. That means that the rest of us hardly pay for anything...and yet you have a feeling of "birthright entitlement".
They have not committed any crime - they've simply traveled with their family to a foreign land. (BTW, all those who drive over the speed limit should be dubbed an "ILLEGAL" because they break the law...but I digress.)
The fact is that the undocumented are abused and afraid - and the hatred you people spew (even children!) stems from ignorance.
Check out the DREAM Act!

Nathan of CA 3:09PM April 27, 2009

Put NATO troops on the border. That will end all the arguements, end illegal invasion, end Mexico's chemical warfare (drug pushing) on the people of the US.
If Mexico pushes it's people across the border, they will have 26 NATO nations to deal with. This should have been done years ago.

Bullfighter of IL 10:46AM March 30, 2009

Their are thousands of educated people waiting in line to come to this country legally.
Calfornia is a disaster because it is so burdened by illegals from Mexico.
Yes, this is a nation of immigrants like my self from Ireland. The difference is that for some reason Mexicans are takers of this country unlike everyother immigrant population that has come to this country who do well, educate themselves and their children and learned to speak English.
I find Mexicans to be very irrogant in their expectations from a country that is not their own.
living close to Santa Ana,Ca which is about 90% hispanic. it once was a beautiful city, now it is a gang infested mess.
The biggest compliant from teachers in Santa Ana is the lack of parental involvement with their children and their education .
When Mexicans stop coming to the US with their hands out, and start acting like everyother immigrant that has come to this country then they will just be the sub_culture that American Citizens and immigrants to the USA dont want in their cities.

Mich of CA 2:35AM March 29, 2009

Why doesn't the state deport them they apply for in state tuition? They are here illegally, so deport the lot. I don't see why the people of the US (via Pell Grants and the like) should pay for educating illegal aliens. If/when they are legal they can apply but as far as I am concerned an illegal alien who applies to a collage has just admited to a crime and should pay the price of that.

John B of WI 8:08PM March 28, 2009

The simple fact of the matter is that they are ILLEGAL immigrants. Why are we giving them anything? When we give them healthcare, welfare, schooling, jobs, etc. etc. we just encourage more illegals to come. The pathetic amount of money they contribute in the form of sales tax is nothing compared to the strain they put on the state budget.
We are sacraficing law abiding and tax paying U.S. citizens for illegals. There are limited number of spots in California schools, so why are we even giving them to ILLEGAL immigrants when we are turning away legal U.S. citizens?
When does it stop, where do we finally draw the line and say we have given you enough? How long till we start giving illegals financial aide or full ride scholarships? How long before we see legislation allowing illegal immigrants to vote?

Ryan of CA 1:03PM March 19, 2009

I WOULD SAY TO YOU, IF YOU FIND ONE AMERICAN WHO GETS THE SAME BENIFITS IN MEXICO THEN WE SHOULD DO THE SAME. REMEMBER THERE ARE TWO COUNTRIES NOT ONE. WHEN MEXICO GIVES THE SAME BENIFITS TO OUR CITIZENS THEN COOL. UNTIL THEN DON'T ASK ME TO BE GENEROUS

ROD of CA 7:51PM March 10, 2009

Middle-class Americans are struggling to provide higher education for their children. Let's take care of our own tax-paying, law-abiding citizens before we help others.
If there is funding available after that, I would be in favor of helping those less fortunate.
America is still a land of opportunity, but not a land of entitlement.

Gina M. of NJ 12:24PM January 13, 2009

One more thing I would like to mention here is that the matter of US government recognizing immigrants as legal or illegal comes down to politics. About a decade ago when Irish economy wasn't doing so well, there was a big number of illegal Irish workers coming from nothern border working in construction. Does anyone talk about the northern border as much urgency as they talk about one in the south? There are several millions of Cuban immigrants in the U.S. They did not have to worry about getting papers since once they set their feet on U.S. territory, they are automotically recognized as political asylees even if they are motivated by economic reasons. Many people don"t seem to realize that it is all about politics. WHo seize the half of Mexican territory in the 19th century??? I forgot...

Dan Cook of CA 1:30AM January 12, 2009

I have reflected upon this issue of education of immigrants long enough to have something to say about it. I am not very familiar with the federal law so I will leave the legal aspect of the issue. First of all, I would like to question the use of term 'discounted' tuition. It connotates the notion that illegal immigrants are unjustly recieving a special treatment when in fact they are just granted the right to pay what the majority of students in California public universities are paying because those students are californian residents. I believe that it is very fair that anyone who studied for more than 3 years and graduated from high schools in California regardless of their legal immigration status. In many cases, those immigrants without legal documents do not pay income taxes but they DO contribute to state as well as greater national economy by participating as labor forces, spending their salary within the border(which means paying sales taxes). Given at least three years of contributing to the state economy, it does not sound unreasonable to me. On the other hand, the public institutions were not 100% state-funded. In case of my home school, UC Berkeley, public funding makes up marely 30% of the total budget. SO just because their presence is not legally recognized by the US government, it does not mean that they have no responsibility over maintaining the greater good of members of society. What are we really getting out of rejecting to grant them college education???

dan cook of CA 1:05AM January 12, 2009

HAVE YOU CHECK YOUR LAST NAME? Where are you from? Where are your parents from? Don't come here pretending of something that you are not. You might be a US citisen, but your name and I am sure your FACE says I'M AN IMMIGRANT!
Do a little research and educate yourself a little bit and you will see that most of this students were brough to the US by their parents when they were minor. I AM PRETTY SURE THAT THE SAME HAPPENED TO YOU AND/OR YOUR PARENTS!
Go read the DREAM Act so you can understand a little better some proposals. You should strive to be an immigrant not an ignorant!

RODRIGUEZ of MD 3:36PM January 11, 2009