Post Columnist Defends Illegal Immigration

Marc Fisher, Metro Columnist for The Washington Post is getting all worked up because the Virginia Legislature is moving to ban illegal immigrants from state colleges or universities. Equating the denial of benefits reserved for citizens or people from other countries here on student visas with punishment implies that anybody who wants to has the right to attend the American university of their choice.

Have no fear: Virginia's lawmakers are once again standing up for real Americans. If the federal government won't stop illegals at the border, Virginia will take on the issue. The House of Delegates has passed a bill to give state police the authority to enforce immigration laws; if the Senate and governor approve the plan, Virginia would become the third state to let police become immigration cops when they, for example, make a traffic stop.

The House the other day voted 67 to 33 to pass a bill that would ban illegal immigrants from attending state colleges or universities. Another bill would simply force them to pay out-of-state tuition rates.

But why punish students who came here as little kids and played no role in their parents' decision to enter this country illegally?

As for punishing children because of their parent's decision to commit an illegal act, if that were a criteria then we could never incarcerate someone who has children. There seems to be something about illegal activity that gets a liberal all warm and weepy. They want to make sure criminals are comfortable in jail, keep citizens from defending themselves, and get all worked up when some murderer has to be executed.

What about those of us who obey the law, go to work and serve our country. No, we are expected to pick up the tab quietly to give every benefit of legal citizenship to those who have contempt for the most basic of laws, respect the borders of other nations. Not just that but feel shame for resenting being used in such a way. When it's convenient liberals cry about the rule of law, yet on this matter they ignore the law altogether.

But no, there's "no political spin to this at all," Hargrove insisted. "We're not going after immigrants. We just want to say that our public institutions are here for citizens and then for legal aliens."

That explanation makes no sense to Templin and many others on his campus. "We're talking about a disproportionate amount of attention being devoted to a very small group," Templin said. "Almost all of our immigrant students are here lawfully. And all of them pay taxes. If we force immigrant students to pay out-of-state tuition, we might as well deny them admission. It makes higher education impractical for them."

In fact, far from taking slots that would have gone to citizens, a disproportionate number of immigrant students already pay out-of-state tuition, "which literally creates more capacity for us, because we make money from those students," Templin said.

Notice the switch from the discussion of illegal immigrants to immigrants in general. This issue has nothing to do with immigrants. People from other countries come here understanding the requirements willing to work within those boundaries. The act of paying taxes does not relieve one of the responsibility to obey the law. In all other cases of breaking a law some sanction is applied that limits that person's exercise of their rights. Not being a citizen and coming here outside the law should carry the sanction of no rights as a citizen and a return to square one, back to where they came from.

Marc Fisher's condescending attitude toward the legislature of Virginia for wanting to maintain the value of citizenship can't hide the dishonesty of his argument nor his contempt for the average law abiding citizen