So what do you do if you’re the governor of a state so deep in debt that it surpasses the debt of 32 countries, with unfunded mandates in the billions of dollars? Do you address the weak economy or the budget shortfall? Hell no. You sign a law which allows undocumented immigrants to apply for state-funded scholarships and aid at state universities.
Existing California law, signed this July by Governor Brown, allows undocumented immigrant students who have graduated from a California high school and can prove they’re on the path to legalize their immigration status to pay resident tuition rates
Brown signed into law the this weekend the more contentious second half of the package that also allows undocumented students to apply for state financial aid but specifies that they only qualify for financial aid after all the other legal residents have applied.
Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles said, “The signing of now both parts of the California Dream Act will send a message across the country that California is prepared to lead the country with a positive and productive vision for how we approach challenging issues related to immigration.”
What Cedillo didn’t say was that with a state that’s a financial disaster, sharing education funds with illegal aliens will mean less money for legal residents.
The bills are different from the federal Dream Act, which includes a path to citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants.
“Going to college is a dream that promises intellectual excitement and creative thinking,” Brown said. “The Dream Act benefits us all by giving top students a chance to improve their lives and the lives of all of us.”
What the law also does is take money from promising legal students and share it with children of illegal aliens. Rewarding those who break our laws by sneaking into the country undermines immigration laws and encourages undocumented immigration by granting access to state resources reserved for legal residents.
Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Hesperia, said the bill’s passage will be the biggest mistake the Democratic Party makes.
“The polling indicates that 80 to 90 percent of Californians are against this, and it crosses party lines,” Donnelly said. He said he hopes to get a ballot initiative overturning the law started as soon as the bill is officially included in state statutes.
“It is absolutely, fundamentally wrong and unfair and it is an insult to people who have worked and played by the rules, including those who have come to this country legally,” he said.
Ginny Rapini, coordinator for the NorCal Tea Party Patriots, said there should be consequences for undocumented immigrants and giving them an education funded by California taxpayers isn’t fair to the legal residents who can’t afford to pay their own tuition.
“What part of illegal do we not get? When people come here illegally they need to come here with the same rules and regulations that other people came here with,” Rapini said.
California’s Department of Finance estimates that 1 percent of all Cal Grant funds, the state student financial aid program, will be affected by the legislative package when it goes into effect in January 2013. The department says that 2,500 students would qualify for aid under the bill and estimates the costs to equal $14.5 million of a $1.4 billion program.
Why would a state so deeply in debt and with a population so against funding those who came there illegally completely disregard the feelings of the state’s taxpayers? This is one more example of a political party that no longer believes in government for the people by the people. This is just the type of action that will certainly encourage Tea Party membership. Labeling the act as idiotic is an enormous understatement.
A middle-of-the-road view might be that children brought to the state illegally had no part in breaking the law; however such a view is short-sighted. Every parent wants their child to receive a quality education and succeed; you cannot fault that objective. Yet millions of California parents manage to do just that for their children legally. Whether a child is responsible or not, $14.5 million of legal taxpayer funds will not go to help the children of legal residents, but to the children of those who have committed a crime.
All over the country people scratch their heads and wonder if all the earthquakes in California have shaken a few of their brain cells loose. Illegal immigration already costs the state of California many millions of dollars in public services, but they keep on digging.
More than three-quarters of California residents are up-in-arms, but they need look no further than their mirrors. They elected Jerry Brown; they elected the majority liberal state house and they got what they deserved. Enjoy your soaring tax bills with the knowledge that your legislators, who can’t pay the state’s bills, care enough about illegal aliens to redistribute some of your kid’s education funds to help them out. Is it any wonder why the state who once led the nation in population growth is watching as workers and companies flee?