Blog Post #1
Illegal Immigration with In-state Tuition
Immigration is a huge issue facing the United States
government, even more so than ever under this new presidency. The
United States was found on Immigration, at one point in time all of our
ancestors were immigrants to this nation, so the questions to be asked is why
do we have such an issue with allowing immigration to continue?
I may not have the answer to the question but we can take a
closer look on an issue that has been recurring throughout our nation within
the past few years. More recently we have seen a decent amount of high school
graduates coming forward as being illegal immigrants. So here is the question
to be discussed, Should illegal immigrants receive in-state tuition?
As of 1996 federal law states that illegal immigrants are
not to receive in-state tuition for public institutions of higher education.
Although, this is considered federal law, many states have passed laws allowing
in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. These states were allowed to proceed
with this action do to these set requirements, such as the students must have
attended their high school for three or more years or in many of these states schools they are just simply not asking whether they are legal here or
not, ultimately allowing these students to receive in-state tuition.
Those in favor of providing illegal students with in-state tuition
argues that many of these illegal immigrant teens were brought to this country
as babies by their parents and they should not have to pay for the mistakes of
their parents. Also many of these students only known home is the United States, so
to them they are very much American.Also argued, If these students were awarded with the
opportunity to attend a school at a more affordable price they very much well
could be a productive member of American society, and not being pushed down
into illegal activities.
Those Opposed to the offer of in-state tuition argue that if a
student is to be attending a college is nearly an adult, therefore they should
hold some responsibility. The opposed side also argues that the states allowing
illegal immigrants to receive in-state is violating federal law. This side also
believes that entrance slots in colleges are tight so allowing illegal
immigrants the advantage over American students is taking away from American society and what we stand for.
As one can see each side has legitimate arguments but at the end
of the day which side will have the most convincing of the two. Each side uses
persuasive wording but in different ways, each appealing to one’s own party and
very much ignoring the arguments of the other. However, if in the middle such
as I am on this issue one can see the validity of both the sides. With this particular
issue at the end of the day it’s all cause and effect, someone isn’t going to
get what they need and the other person will, so will it be the American or the illegal immigrant?
This is an interesting issue - and, as with so many elements of the immigration issue, there are many compelling points to consider. Remember that our class is not focused upon assessing the relative worth of different positions, but rather on becoming proficient at recognizing persuasive technique and strategy in public discourse. Your post opens up a number of potential directions for your project.
ReplyDeleteClearly, immigration is one of the currently "hot" political issues, being a controversial centerpiece to Mr. Trump's successful campaign for president. The individuals you mention in this post have commonly been referred to as the "dreamers" in response to the DREAM Act (acronym for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) - legislation that was introduced in 2010 with some hope of success, but has since been marginalized because of the controversial nature of the debate. How to treat the native-born children of illegals has continued to be a political wedge issue. That could certainly serve as the basis for your paper.
The more specific issue of whether or not these residents would qualify for in-state tuition appears likely to be an issue for each state to address. Thus, more liberal states like NY or CA might be more inclined to expand the in-state pool, whereas more conservative states might be less inclined. Border states like TX and AZ are embroiled in these debates right now, and former governor Rick Perry (R-TX) held the position, somewhat inconsistent with his party, that the in-state tuition privilege should be extended to the dreamers.
Remember that our term paper is meant to focus upon the narratives that emerge from any controversy. Here, you might focus upon the issue of how to treat the dreamers, or about cost of education and who deserves help, or about whether each state or only the federal government can set policy on how to treat dreamers.
This is an interesting area, but you still need to figure out a specific focus for your work. Please let me know how I can help!
I decided to look at this very small issue within the larger issue of immigration. This issue affects us as students today, there is so much talk around receiving affordable education for every American, but does that include the illegal immigrant that calls America home?
ReplyDeleteThis topic definitely touches home for most students that are attending universities today. Schooling has become outrageously expensive, the average middle class family can’t afford to send their children to college, so a great deal of the financial pressure falls onto the students who are already overly stressed with the pressure on them to succeed in college.
If an American student lived in PA and wanted to go to another state for school, that student in question would be expected to pay out of state tuition,no questions asked, due to the fact that their family does not pay taxes within the state they will be attending college. So why is it okay for an illegal immigrant to receive in state tuition when they are not paying taxes? Although, isn’t it every person's right to receive affordable education no matter their background or where their family has come from.If this is the case and also the American dream, where does the line get drawn.
Now this leaves us with a few questions, Should parents be considered in financial aid consideration? Will every student be able to receive in-state tuition whether or not they live in the state? How do we as a country make education equal for every student no matter the background? Each argument tends to look at one side and ignores the other, but does not take into consideration what's best and equal to all students, no batter their legal status.
The two major arguments spoken about above appeals to the ones emotions, each speak of the other about not being equal or fair. Whether you’re left winged and feel as if illegal immigrants should have a right to affordable education, or they are right winged, feeling that Americans come first. The arguments they are making to the audience is the feelings of neglect, and not being heard.