HCC rally backs tuition breaks for illegal immigrants

So American kids are busting their asses to pay for tuition but illegals get tuition breaks that they've "earned". WTF?

 

Most American kids aren't busting their asses. The American kids, or any kids for that matter, that bust their asses get rewarded for it through scholarships if they also have the aptitude to go along with the work.

 

Scholarships in an ideal world should be based on merit only, not on what color your skin is or what company your parent works for.

 

No, they don't. It doesn't matter how well you do in school. If your parents make above a certain amount of money, you don't get a scholarship. Period.

Why is it that certain people on this board have such a low view of Americans?

 

American kids and their families are busting their asses to pay tuition that rises every year. Take a look around buddy. I don't think when American kids have to join the military in large numbers to pay for college or are forced to go into huge debt in securing loans for school that this country should be in the business of subsidizing higher education for illegals. That's just political nonsense right there. An American kid can't even cross into another state without getting jacked with tuition costs but an illegal can sneak into the country and get tuition relief? Whatever.

 

What did I get for busting my ass? ZERO dollars in subsidized Federal Stafford Loans! Total BS. College costs are skyrocketing, interest rates are going up to 6.8%, and some idiots want to give money to illegals? There's not nearly enough money for US citizens as it is!

 

I agree.

 

And how high were your scores on the big standerdized tests?

 

710 GMAT
3.2 undergrad GPA, Electrical Engineering from UT

 

Definitely a hell of a lot higher than yours.

 

simple spelling mistake.

The problem as I see it is that too many people who shouldn't be going to college are, and complain about the costs because of it. College is not a trade school, and it should not be viewed as such. People say John Doe works his ass off, but of what does working his ass off consist? I grew up around that meaning he pulled Cs in high school.

 

I was always under the impression that unless you were pursuing a PhD, post-bach funding was next to impossible.

With that being said, congratulations about your GMAT scores. I might've mistook your venting. I thought you were referring to your pre-undergrad experiences when referring to busting your ass, not the undergrad work. That does anger me, though. I feel you should be rewarded for your work during college since you are contributing to the environment.

 

The current reality is that some amnesty or documentation program will come to place within the next 5-10 years. It'd be better to have as much of these guests know what they're doing than to be officially incorporated into a stagnant welfare state.

 

No. Its saying that instead of paying out-of-state tuition, kids that are illegal but have lived in Texas for years would pay the same tuition as other kids that live in Texas. I believe the rules (3 years in Texas) are still more stringent than other students (1 year in Texas).

For all the reactionary people on the board, the bill has nothing to do with merit, income OR race.

 

Here is the House Bill 1403:


House Bill 1403 (Texas Residency)

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Section 54.057 (j), Texas Education Code, (House Bill 1403) provides for an individual to be classified as a Texas resident until the individual establishes a residence outside this state if the individual resided with the individual’s parent, guardian, or conservator while attending a public or private high school in Texas and

1. graduated from a public or private high school or received the equivalent of a high school diploma in Texas;
2. resided in Texas for at least three years as of the date the person graduated from high school or received the equivalent of a high school diploma;
3. registers as an entering student in an institution of higher education Fall 2001 or thereafter, and
4. provides to the institution an affidavit stating that the individual will file an application to become a permanent resident at the earliest opportunity the individual is eligible to do so.


So it does appear to simply define immigrants who have lived in Texas for three years as in-state residents and thus eligible for in-state tuition, as opposed to any kind of lower tuition that other Texas residents are not eligible for.

 

By getting community college or university degrees, illegal immigrants would probably nullify one of their key perceived costs to American society, albeit on individual, case-by-case bases. They would increase their potential productivity and marketability within our job market. This decreases their likelihood to depend upon social services, and increases their likelihood to be net contributors to our society, both economically and fiscally. I am also idealist enough to think that increased education is a net benefit to our society no matter who gets it.

How does the state of Texas subsidize higher education? Do community colleges get county property taxes? Other than that, isn't Texas' other source of income sales tax (due to the lack of a state income tax)? In that context, wouldn't illegal immigrants who've lived here long enough have already "contributed" a similar amount as non-home-owning Texans (as I was at the time), by sheer virtue of retail consumption?

I guess the only major issue is how pissed off fully visa'd international students would be, still having to pay $20,000+ per year international tuition rate at U of H while illegal aliens get the in-state rate. It might create an incentive for some sort of residency/documentation fraud.

 

I have to retract the last paragraph of this post. For some reason, I was under the impression that International Students paid a specific higher tuition rate (even higher than non-state residents), but apparently they just pay the non-state-resident rate. My mistake.