We need to start up a SCHOLARSHIP Fund for DREAMers, we can do it!
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TX: Why Not Let Students 'Become Someone'?
USA Today, July 25, 2008 Friday
By Marisa Trevioo
Maybe it was because the sender's name, Maritza, was so similar to mine that I felt compelled to open the e-mail. A quick scan proved it was not an unwelcome solicitation, but a plea for help from a student who was also an "illegal immigrant."In part, it read: "I send you an e-mail regarding ... undocumented students who wish to keep studying to become someone." She wanted information on college scholarships that helped students like herself -- high school graduates in need of the kind of financial aid that doesn't depend on citizenship status, only good grades. With so few scholarships, it isn't easy for these students. As a recent USA TODAY article notes, more states want to make in-state tuition rates unavailable or outright ban these students from attending U.S. colleges.
In a reading of new laws in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Oklahoma, and North and South Carolina, the idea that all children deserve the opportunity for a college education is as foreign as the countries where these children were born. These laws appear to be offshoots of state measures designed to drive the undocumented from local communities. In 2007, according to the Education Commission of the States, 32 states considered bills to give undocumented students in-state tuition. Ten of those states are now considering restricting in-state tuition.
Why? Many state legislators have become incensed that the federal government hasn't taken the lead on enforcement. Their anti-illegal immigrant rhetoric has encouraged wide interpretations of federal policy.In seeking to punish these students, these legislators are, in fact, punishing all of us. Do we really want to waste the talent of these ambitious students? What good is being done by keeping in the dark those serious about furthering their education? The reality is that this country is their home, and they'll be here whether we choose to educate them or not.
What is an advanced degree worth? The Census reports that in 2006, workers with a bachelor's degree earned $56,788 vs. $31,071 for those with only a high school diploma. A labor study that same year found that 500 of the largest U.S. companies will lose 50% of their senior management by 2011. Our aging labor force needs to be replenished by those schooled to compete in a knowledge-based economy. Other countries are clamoring for a highly educated workforce just as we're driving students away.Is this the new American way?
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1 comment:
why not let american citizens be someone. coming here illegally and recieving benefits that others pay for who are here legally is NOT fair. come here legally like my mother and grandmother and others did at the turn of the century when the high influx of immigrants came over, then go to school. the word illegal means against the law, obey the laws of all countries then go to school.
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