Illegal Immigrants And The Public Education System

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Same Tuition’s Problem The issue of higher education and immigration has been debated for more than a decade. American educational system is falling to a record low level for its unprecedented low academic standard, high dropout rate, and huge economic burden (Walsh 1). The state should require illegal immigrants to pay higher tuition should they decide to participate in public higher education, because illegal immigrants drain resources; affect the quality of public educations; and take away legal residents’ rights. In doing so, the overall public education system may head to a right direction. Illegal aliens have strained our education budget (Walsh 1). Human and monetary resources are over stretched in burden of taxpayers. In…show more content…
Because of the 1982 United States Supreme Court decision of Plyler vs. Doe, states are required to provide illegal immigrant students with a free public school education. Thirteen years after this Court decision, public school systems in states with large illegal immigrant populations are going bankrupt (Grandrath 3). According Walsh, Public education has cost U.S. taxpayer an estimated $2 trillion since 1980 when President Jimmy Carter rewarded his supporters in the National Education Association (NEA), the teachers union, by creating the U.S. Department of Education (1). There are an estimated 1.5 million school-aged illegal immigrants in the United States public education system and the government spends an estimated $12 billion annually to educate them. The biggest chunks are spent by California ($7.7 billion) and Texas (3.9 billion), where the situation has become a public education crisis with no end in sight (Illegal Immigrants Cause Public School Crisis 1). This significant amount of money is all generated through taxpayers. If only legal residents pay tax, illegal aliens should pay higher tuition to make up the tax break and help the short fall…show more content…
Paying the same tuition as illegal immigrants pay takes away citizens’ right to exclusively obtain American education for one they or their parents are taxpayer to fund the school, and two illegal immigrants are in the United States illegally. Furthermore, higher education is a federal public benefit because colleges and universities receive federal funding, and illegal immigrants aren’t eligible for federal benefits (Trevizo 2). A report on June 28, 2011, that the Maryland version of the Dream Act which awards college tuition benefits to illegal aliens was in peril of repeal due to the frustration of Marylanders with illegal immigration (Walsh 2). It is essential that the state policy allows verification on who qualifies for in-state tuition and who doesn’t in order to prevent undocumented students taking seats away from legal residents (Trevizo 4). If illegal aliens are allowed to attend public higher education, higher tuition price is a must. The difference can be sighted as the equivalent of taxes paid by legal residents enable them to participate in American public school and paying in-state tuition. Paying the same tuition price from illegal aliens in taking higher education will not help prevent or reduce the problems in our current education system cause by illegal immigrants. The problems are over stretched educational budget, lower academic standard, and takeaway of

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