On tuition, a little common sense from Illinois

www.americanthinker.com

Common sense and Illinois don’t mix much these days. It’s hard to keep up with the land of Lincoln, from companies leaving the state to your weekend shootings in Chicago. Even the fabled Bears want out! I don’t enjoy watching it because we need healthy states and vibrant cities.

We did see a little common sense this week when a federal judge struck down a state law that granted tuition to illegal immigrants. Let’s get the story:

A federal judge has struck down Illinois laws allowing unlawfully present aliens to receive in-state college tuition, state financial aid, and DREAM Act scholarship benefits, ruling those laws are preempted by federal immigration law.
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The judge’s opinion supported the Justice Department. It basically ruled that in-state tuition policies, the RISE Act, and the Illinois DREAM Act were “unconstitutional and invalid.” Why? Because these people are illegal immigrants, not legal residents in Illinois. The other argument is that these laws incentivized illegal immigration on the taxpayer’s dime, and that’s completely true.

The argument is that these students, or dreamers, were brought here as kids and grew up here. That’s true, but what about the others, like me, who came here legally and eventually became a US citizen? Or what about the young person living in Indiana who wants to attend an Illinois college? Why should he compete for state resources with someone who is not in the country legally? Again, why incentivize illegal immigration in the first place?

So common sense prevailed, and we hope that this example moves to other states where this nonsense goes on. Of course, Illinois will appeal, but I don’t think that it will win.

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