Five months after being asked whether illegal immigrants should be permitted to attend North Carolina’s community colleges, Attorney General Roy Cooper issued a statement today that the colleges should “follow standards set by federal law.”
The ruling comes after a December 3, 2007, letter written by Senator Fred Smith asked Cooper to “review and clarify the legal standing of a November 7, 2007, memorandum (CC 07-275) issued by the North Carolina Community College System.”
Cooper’s opinion may lay the groundwork for a statewide ban prohibiting illegal immigrants from attending all public universities and colleges. A similar policy in Virginia has already been ruled constitutional. More on that tomorrow.
And just a coincidence he releases the opinion the day AFTER the primary, so his Democratic buddies don’t have to answer the questions that would be asked of them.