Austin American Statesman (Op-Ed-Texas)
By Texas Sen. Donna Campbell
May 20, 2015
In
2001, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1403 to provide in-state
tuition benefits for undocumented students residing in Texas. As
written, the law was designed
to help children already living here and brought to the United States
illegally through no fault of their own.
Fifteen
years later, the needs of those children have been met. We kept our
promise to them, and they have moved through our school system. Now it’s
time to renew our
focus on encouraging a safe and legal immigration system that rewards
following the law.
We
cannot afford to subsidize illegal immigration in perpetuity. Setting
aside taxpayer dollars for noncitizens who haven’t come to this country
yet, and will arrive here
illegally when they do, is bad public policy. HB 1403 is not just
fiscally irresponsible; it fails to address the root of the problem — a
porous border and broken immigration system.
Our
state’s precious resources and limited slots at four-year universities
should be directed, first and foremost, to serve the educational needs
of Texas residents. That
is the whole purpose of offering a subsidized tuition rate to legal
Texas residents in the first place.
Almost
25,000 undocumented immigrants received in-state tuition benefits or
qualified for taxpayer-funded grants worth nearly $33 million in 2013.
This was up dramatically
from 2007, when only 10,000 undocumented students accepted in-state
tuition benefits. Projecting this trend forward, Texas taxpayers will be
awarding $100 million worth of in-state tuition benefits and grants to
undocumented students in the year 2020.
The
Obama administration’s failure to secure the border and enforce
existing immigration laws will only exacerbate these costs. Last year,
60,000 undocumented children
made the dangerous trek here from Central America — and that number is
projected to be between 20,000 to 30,000 in 2015.
While
institutions of higher education have asked state lawmakers to address
the rising cost of tuition benefits for the children of our veterans by
reforming the legacy
requirements of the Hazlewood Act, the majority have opposed efforts to
end the rising cost of tuition benefits for students unlawfully in this
country. This is a grave disservice to the men and women who have
served our nation so bravely.
As
a state senator, I took an oath to uphold the law and serve the needs
of Texas residents. I cannot in good conscience support a policy that
puts the needs of noncitizens
ahead of Texans — especially when many noncitizens will be unable to
legally work in our state upon graduation.
Immigrants
seek refuge in Texas and the United States because we are a nation that
adheres to the rule of law and places an exceptional value on what it
means to be a
citizen. When we fail to enforce immigration laws and create loopholes
for those who disregard our laws, we violate the very foundation of what
makes our nation a beacon of hope to nearly 2 million legal immigrants
every year. This is by far the most legal
immigrants entering any nation on the planet.
Rather
than encouraging a safe, legal, and orderly immigration system, the
so-called Texas Dream Act passed in 2001 rewards illegal immigration in
perpetuity. It is better
to repeal it now, as SB 1819 does, than to wait for costs to skyrocket.
While
proponents of the Texas Dream Act like to point to the $51 million
undocumented immigrants spend on tuition and fees at Texas universities
and colleges, this total
includes grants and financial assistance provided by taxpayers and
universities. In reality, these are the very dollars that should and
would be received and paid for by Texas residents if HB 1403 were
repealed.
Meanwhile,
phasing out in-state tuition benefits for undocumented students will
not deny a college education or college admission to anyone. All it does
is require that
those who aren’t here legally pay a tuition rate equal to the same rate
paid by students from 49 other states.
Only
16 states provide in-state tuition rates for undocumented immigrants;
only four states besides Texas subsidize the education of undocumented
students with additional
state grant money. This is clearly outside the mainstream.
Illegal
immigration is dangerous, breaks up families, promotes lawlessness and
puts lives at risk. Texans should be doing everything we can to stop it
and to end policies
that promote and enable a broken immigration system.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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