EDITORIAL UC'S IMMIGRANT DILEMMA.THE University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). Board of Regents An independent governing body that oversees a state's public Colleges and Universities. All 50 states have governing bodies that oversee the administration of public education. may have all the right intentions, but in making illegal immigrants eligible for the in-state tuition break, it has made a bad decision and sent the wrong message. The dilemma the regents faced at last week's meeting in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. is one that has bedeviled California for the better part of 20 years. On the one hand, there's the compassionate desire to accommodate bright, qualified students whose parents brought them here as children but never obtained legal status. They have the same educational needs and aspirations as all Californians. But the flip side Flip side In the context of general equities, opposite side to a proposition or position (buy, if sell is the proposition and vice versa). of the compassionate impulse is the practical realities of a state stretched to its capacity. Californian officials have long complained that the federal government doesn't do enough to help the state with the cost of providing services to illegal immigrants, but that's a problem California has largely inflicted upon itself. Its unceasing generosity has made it a magnet for illegal immigrants, creating a lopsided imbalance between those who pay taxes and those who collect benefits. Granting an $11,000 discount for illegal immigrants at UC schools involves more than giving a break to the few hundred such students who already attend. It sends a message to all those who violate the laws of this country by entering illegally: Come to California. The benefits are abundant. Your college tuition The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. College tuition will be subsidized. No questions asked. For a state that faces a $12 billion budget deficit and struggles under the weight of its own government, this is a dangerous precedent. It's also a violation of federal law, which prohibits tuition reductions that are granted only to illegal immigrants but not out-of-state residents. And it's manifestly unfair. It makes fools of immigrants who made sacrifices to abide by To stand to; to adhere; to maintain. See also: Abide the law by granting the same privileges to those who don't. It defrauds taxpayers by squandering squan·der tr.v. squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders 1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste. 2. their investment in their own children's future. For the relatively few students who stand to gain from the regents' decision, the majority of Californians stand to lose. |
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