by Ashton DeLano, staff writer
Gov. Jerry Brown last month signed the controversial California Dream Act into law, allowing illegal immigrants to apply for student aid if they have graduated from a California high school and can prove they are on the path to becoming a legal citizen.
Brown’s reasoning is that everyone benefits from the new law because it gives those students a chance to improve their lives, which would create a more productive economy.
At first, the California Dream Act doesn’t seem all that bad, since it doesn’t just hand out aid to any illegal immigrant, and legal immigrants and permanent residents get priority over illegal ones.
The bill was presented with good intentions, allowing more people access to college. But the law undermines both immigration laws and encourages many to illegally immigrate to California because of the opportunities being presented.
When the nation is trying to enforce immigration laws, this law sends the wrong message that illegal immigration will be tolerated in the state.
This law will not come cheap. According to CBS news, 2,500 illegal immigrants qualify for aid under this law, which could cost about $14.5 million.
This cuts into the current student aid, meaning the pot has to be shared by more people without any funds being added.
There are an estimated 2.6 million illegal immigrants in California alone, according to the Department of Homeland Security. By creating this law, we are simply inviting more and more people to enter California illegally, while only about 1 percent are even eligible for aid.
Last year, the program provided grants of about $4,500 each to more than 370,000 students, according to SignonSandiego.com.
As more people dip into the pot for aid, the less can be drawn out. If California plans to bolster the funds available, it will be at the expense of taxpayers, which does not include any illegal immigrants.
It is not right to make hardworking citizens, who might be trying to get their child through college on student aid, pay more so that illegal immigrants can go to college for less money.
The state says the law will contribute to the overall economy by creating a larger and smarter workforce, But if so few illegal immigrants receive aid, what happens to the other who come across the border? They will still be in the state, without paying taxes.
This law is not only completely unfair, but also counter-intuitive. It encourages more people to hop the border in hopes of cheap education. Only a few will get aid, since legal residents would get priority over illegal ones. In addition, not all immigrants are academically inclined, and not all end up graduating from high school.
Instead of giving out small amounts of money to illegal immigrants, we should be giving more to legal citizens who truly need it.
