Don't drop the debate; reframe it
Immigration
The Traveler Editorial Board
Issue date: 10/17/08 Section: Opinion
This fall, the state government required illegal immigrants enrolled at the UA and other Arkansas universities to pay out-of-state tuition. Technically, the state government has always required this.
The UA has not always enforced that requirement, however. In the past, the UA offered in-state tuition to undocumented students who had official transcripts from state high schools. If students failed to supply a Social Security number on their applications, UA officials processed their paperwork anyway.
Earlier this year, though, Higher Education Director Jim Purcell sent out a letter warning schools not to offer illegal immigrants in-state tuition, unless they wanted to give the same benefits to out-of-state students, according to a Sept. 12 Associated Press article on ArkansasBusiness.com.
The UA heeded the letter and now requires students to provide Social Security numbers or student visa numbers.
Again, technically, the letter represented no change in policy for the Gov. Mike Beebe administration.
In 2005, when former state Rep. Joyce Elliott of Little Rock proposed a bill to approve in-state college tuition rates for undocumented students who graduate from Arkansas high schools, then-Attorney General Beebe opposed the bill, according to an Oct. 16 article on The Morning News Web site.
Beebe's opinion has not changed since 2005.
"We can't afford to give scholarships and in-state tuition to every child of every American citizen in the other 49 states," he said this week. "Since you can't do that, you can't do that with illegal aliens, either. It's real simple."
Elliott, now an incoming state senator, plans to resurrect her failed 2005 bill in the 2009 legislative session, which begins in January.
When it comes to illegal immigration and the debate about higher education, the opposing sides just seem to articulate the same positions over and over again, and understandably. The issue pits the rule of law against access to education.
The UA has not always enforced that requirement, however. In the past, the UA offered in-state tuition to undocumented students who had official transcripts from state high schools. If students failed to supply a Social Security number on their applications, UA officials processed their paperwork anyway.
Earlier this year, though, Higher Education Director Jim Purcell sent out a letter warning schools not to offer illegal immigrants in-state tuition, unless they wanted to give the same benefits to out-of-state students, according to a Sept. 12 Associated Press article on ArkansasBusiness.com.
The UA heeded the letter and now requires students to provide Social Security numbers or student visa numbers.
Again, technically, the letter represented no change in policy for the Gov. Mike Beebe administration.
In 2005, when former state Rep. Joyce Elliott of Little Rock proposed a bill to approve in-state college tuition rates for undocumented students who graduate from Arkansas high schools, then-Attorney General Beebe opposed the bill, according to an Oct. 16 article on The Morning News Web site.
Beebe's opinion has not changed since 2005.
"We can't afford to give scholarships and in-state tuition to every child of every American citizen in the other 49 states," he said this week. "Since you can't do that, you can't do that with illegal aliens, either. It's real simple."
Elliott, now an incoming state senator, plans to resurrect her failed 2005 bill in the 2009 legislative session, which begins in January.
When it comes to illegal immigration and the debate about higher education, the opposing sides just seem to articulate the same positions over and over again, and understandably. The issue pits the rule of law against access to education.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Sean Hannity
James
posted 10/17/08 @ 5:50 AM CST
"Respect for the rule of law is what has enabled the U.S. to be self-governing. On the other hand..."
Nope, sorry. There is no 'other hand'. Either you respect the law or you do not. (Continued…)
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