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TEXAS A&M STUDENTS VOTE TO END TUITION PERK FOR ILLEGALS

Original Post here

Written by Greg Victor on November 17, 2010

Howdy! There’s hope for the future! Students are being educated at Texas A&M University, and apparently logic and critical thinking are subjects they are familiar with.

The Texas A&M University’s Student Senate passed a bill (S.B. 63-11) opposing a state law that allows certain illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates. Ready for the expected academia nonsense? The president of A&M’s Student Body, Jacob Robinson, vetoed the measure.

To download a copy of the bill, click here.

The student senators voted 41-26 last week to oppose the law, which allows a person to be classified as a Texas resident if he or she graduated from a high school in Texas, lived in the state for at least three years and agrees to file an application to become a permanent resident as soon as eligible.

Robinson, who vetoed the bill, says that it’s up to the state legislature – not the school – to address the problem of illegal immigration. “This is a state of residency issue and the state needs to address this first,” said Robinson. “Regardless of the logic behind the bill, the Texas A&M Student Senate meeting room is an inappropriate place for an attempt to settle a state issue,” Robinson said, adding that the issue belongs at the state Legislature.

Well, at least the Student Body President acknowledged the presence of logic in the student senate’s actions. But poor guy, he is in an awkward position. And I’m sure he isn’t thrilled that his veto makes him appear to be a Democrat – what with his ignoring the will of his constituents and all…

Since 2001, illegal immigrants in Texas have qualified for in-state tuition, which offers them a generous discount compared to out-of-state students attending the university. Texas A&M has 49,000 students, and about 300 are illegal immigrants. But seriously – if someone is capable of making it through a four-year university then becoming a citizen can’t be that much harder, can it?

The issue isn’t unique to Texas, however. In 2001, Texas became the first of ten states to offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants who meet certain criteria, which includes graduating from a local high school and pledging to legalize their immigration status as soon as possible. Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin all have a variation of the law. On Monday, California’s Supreme Court upheld its state law, after out-of-state students and their families challenged it, arguing they shouldn’t have to pay higher tuition while undocumented immigrants get to pay the lower state rate. Georgia and South Carolina — which have a selective admissions process — are the only two states that ban illegal immigrants from attending any college there.

The student senators voted because state legislators “mentioned the desire to receive feedback from students at Texas institutions — specifically Texas A&M,” said Clark Caperton, student Senate chair of external affairs. The student Senate has the backing of state Representative Leo Berman, who has plans to introduce legislation on this matter in the spring. “I’m very disappointed that one person would have the authority to say no to a bill that was passed by the entire student government,” said Berman, adding that Robinson’s veto was “ridiculous.”

I had the opportunity to discuss the issue with Student Senator Bryce Bender (Texas A&M ’12, Industrial Distribution Major/Business Minor). He made it clear to me that the vote reflected the student body opinion fairly. He said that from his perspective, the majority of students on campus are in support of SB 63-11.

The good news here is that we have an active student body at A&M, who are aware that this debate adds to the exposure of bad State laws. Illegal immigrants are entitled to constitutional due process and equal treatment with citizens when the State applies its penal and coercive laws. But they’re not entitled to equal privileges or benefits, and never have been. Here’s to the Aggie “Gig ‘Em” attitude. May it set an example for other, lesser institutions (other universities… or maybe the U.S. Congress).