OK. Suppose we agree with Chris Fitzsimon’s proposition that our immigration system is broken and the children of immigrants should at least get to go to public school. It’s not hair-splitting to say that college is a privilege, not a right — and that it’s not ‘public school’ here on earth. It’s also true that many undocumented college students are not sons and daughters of illegal immigrants at all (which is a red herring anyway), but border jumpers themselves. (Fitzsimon omits this fact like a cheating husband omits his whereabouts last night.)
So constant reference to "the children" doesn’t obscure the fact that we’re talking about extending heavily tax-subsidized higher education privileges to people who are here – because of their parents or not – in violation of the law. Respect for the rule of law is nothing to take lightly. Fitzsimon takes it very lightly, much in the same way he takes the truth lightly.
But the more critical aspect here is that the community college system is extending the privileges and goodies of tax-paying citizens to people who may- or may not be taxpayers — and are certainly not citizens. Such cosmopolitanism makes the concept of citizenship totally meaningless. And while Fitzsimon wants to streamline the "citizenship process," his suggestion is that we suspend what it means to be a citizen (and shower its benefits on everyone) until the INS or Congress gets its act together. Absurd and dangerous.
(And by the way, this issue has nothing what-so-ever to do with the Supreme Court’s decision to admit children of illegals into public schools. I know the difference between a third-grader and a college sophomore. So do our readers.)
One, like myself, might agree that we need comprehensive immigration reform. One might even agree, like myself, that something that is close to amnesty is in order (visitor visas, work visas, whatever) — not being one who thinks it is pragmatic or wise to deport 12 million people and being one who does have a severe case of the Ellis Isle mentality. But accepting your tired and huddled masses is quite different from extending government freebies. To throw public resources at people by virtue of the fact that they came here without permission is dangerously akin to saying that we owe those who trespass on our yards tea and biscuits.
-Max Borders
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