Immigration follies in Arizona

The aspect of today's issues that fascinates me most is how the absurdity of the status quo is lost on those in charge. Arizona's citizens voted in a proposition to exclude illegal immigrants from receiving in state tuition at their universities and collages.

The statute requires undocumented immigrants to pay out-of-state tuition at the state's public universities and colleges, prohibits students from receiving any type of financial assistance that is funded with state money, and requires schools to determine and report to the Legislature how many undocumented immigrants are attending their schools.

That the citizens of the state had to force the legislation by proposition is just one example of the absurd nature of the illegal immigration issue. One would assume that elected representatives would naturally guard the interests of the citizens whom they represent at the detriment of people who break the law to come into their jurisdiction from another country. The reality however is one where those very representatives are stumbling over themselves trying to guarantee benefits to illegal immigrants that should only be available to law abiding citizens. Yet in spite of the will expressed by the citizens the institutions charged with complying with the law are perplexed.

he Arizona Board of Regents is discussing the proposition's impact and assessing admissions applications and how to enforce the law at the three state universities, spokeswoman Anne Barton said.

At its Jan. 25-26 meeting, the regents will review a draft Proposition 300 implementation plan.
Maricopa Community Colleges, which oversees 10 colleges throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area, said admissions staff, legal counsel and records staff also are working to determine how they will enforce the law.

How difficult is it to determine if an applicant is a legal resident. They have been quite adept at making sure that citizens who are not residents of Arizona don't enjoy the in state tuition so why would it be any more complex to screen out those who are here illegally. Obviously the problem is not that they have no idea how to keep the illegals from getting discounts on tuition but that they want to find a way around the law. This whole concept is absurd. If a person who is illegally in the country can not just attend the university, but also receive financial aid from taxes taken from the citizens then who can they exclude citizens from other states from also enjoying the discounts offered to the residents of Arizona? Likewise, If they know a person is in the country illegally why are they being admitted as students event is they pay the full tuition? Shouldn't they be excluded from attending until they receive a student visa as so many responsible aliens do each year? Well get this:

Some of the affected students say they'll try to raise money from businesses and nonprofits as the spring semester approaches.
But with classes two weeks away, some of those students fear they will be priced out of college. Others worry they will have to move to Mexico to attend school.

If they have to go through such a hassle why not just go the legal route? It seems some people just can't grasp the most simple of concepts because they so self absorbed. A good wood shampoo may be helpful to opening their eyes to reality but with our own leaders so clueless it is no wonder that so many choose to flout the law rather than respect it. The day is coming where it may be beneficial to lose one's documents and begin to live as if one is here illegally.






politics, Mexico, Arizona, immigration