Tech leaders lend a hand to undocumented students who dream of college
At a Georgia State rally in support of the Dream Act, police order students to move. Six students were arrested at the August protest. (M. Martinez/mundohispanico)
The Wall Street Journal reports that the “titans” of Silicon Valley are coming to the aid of undocumented students who want to attend college in the United States, a dream that is being derailed by state legislatures intent on limiting access to their public colleges, including those in Georgia.
On Monday, the state Senate approved a bill that would bar illegal immigrants from attending all of Georgia’s 60 public colleges, the 35 colleges in the University System of Georgia and the 25 in Technical College System of Georgia.
If Senate Bill 458 becomes law, Georgia would join Alabama and South Carolina in barring undocumented students from its public college classrooms.
According to the AJC, Sen. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, said his bill guarantees that taxpayer-supported colleges only serve citizens and those who are in the country lawfully. He maintains that said it’s wrong for illegal immigrants to take seats at these schools since they can’t legally work in the country after graduation.
But the Wall Street Journal article says a powerful, influential and wealthy group of innovation leaders — Jeff Hawkins, inventor of the Palm Pilot; and the family foundations of Andrew Grove, co-founder of Intel Corp., Mark Leslie, founder of the former Veritas Software Corp., and Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs — disagree with locking such students out of higher education.
The Silicon Valley money is part of a broader response by individuals and states to Congress, which hasn’t passed the Dream Act. That federal legislation would offer a path to legalization for illegal immigrants who graduate from a U.S. high school and attend college or join the military. “We think Congress’s inaction…is devastating for these students and tragic for the country,” said Ms. Powell Jobs, who was one of the first in the tech community to champion the Dream Act by lobbying her congresswoman and writing an op-ed piece supporting the legislation.
The focus of the Silicon Valley philanthropists is Educators for Fair Consideration, or E4FC, a nonprofit that gives scholarships, career advice and legal services to students brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants can face civil and criminal penalties. Among other ideas, the Silicon Valley donors are studying the possibility of using unpaid internships as way for students to come to the attention of employers who might later sponsor them for a legal work visa. After helping a few dozen students through college with small donations, the San Francisco-based organization expanded with money from the tech leaders. It now has enlisted immigration attorneys to offer legal advice to hundreds of undocumented students.
“We used to think, ‘Let’s just get them through college’” with scholarships, said Katharine Gin, a teacher who founded E4FC along with a college counselor. “We thought the federal Dream Act would pass and we would be helping these students in the interim period only.”
Several of the Silicon Valley supporters became aware of the issue close up: Mr. Hawkins got to know an undocumented student at his daughters’ high school. Liz Simons, daughter of the founder of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, mentored an undocumented honor student in high school who was struggling to raise funds for college because of his illegal status. Seth Leslie, son of Veritas’s founder, had encountered undocumented students in his work as a schoolteacher and principal. The money involved is relatively small: The tech philanthropists and others gave hundreds of thousands dollars in the last year to the group, whose 2012 operating budget is $600,000.
California, Illinois and New York in recent months passed bills that enable undocumented students to receive financial aid for college. Thirteen states allow illegal immigrants who reside in their borders to pay in-state fee.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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126 comments Add your comment
Happy Kine and The Mirth Makers
March 6th, 2012
11:57 am
Since they are so concerned, perhaps these “Titans of industry” could go a little further and clothe, feed and house these illegals at their own personal residence.
Step right up, TITANS!!
Atlanta Mom
March 6th, 2012
12:08 pm
There’s a reason Silicon Valley is in California and not Georgia. NO visionaries here.
jay
March 6th, 2012
12:24 pm
Well said Atlanta Mom…
SoGaDawg
March 6th, 2012
12:25 pm
Maureen,
I’m not sure if you’re awre of it, but your headline has a typo in it. Illegal Aliens isn’t spelled correctly. For some reason you’re spelling it as “undocumented workers.” Just wanted to make you aware of this.
You’re welcome.
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
12:26 pm
Senate Bill 458 should become law IMMEDIATELY. There is no way on God’s green Earth that out-of-state students and legal immigrants should be allowed to take one of the precious few and very limited spots from the law-abiding and taxpaying citizens of the state of Georgia, so providing education at great cost and resource to ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS should be COMPLETELY OUT OF THE QUESTION.
Maureen Downey
March 6th, 2012
12:27 pm
Soga, Actually, I am “spelling” it as “undocumented students.”
Cindy Anderson
March 6th, 2012
12:29 pm
If education is so important to “undocumented illegals”, then why not just get your documents and be done with it and all this hoopla will be over ?!?!?!
SoGaDawg
March 6th, 2012
12:30 pm
Still incorrect Maureen. These kids are illegal aliens. They need to get out of our country and stop taking up our resources. Calling them “undocumented” doesn’t change anything.
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
12:30 pm
Efforts should also be made IMMEDIATELY to deter the enrollment of illegals in grades K-12 in public schools.
Illegal immigration and it’s damaging effects of increased crime, gang activity, illegal smuggling, etc, have NO place in Georgia or any other U.S. state, for that matter.
Rival
March 6th, 2012
12:32 pm
People here don’t seem to mind working for Kia or the hundreds/thousands of other foreign-owned companies in Georgia. Do those crafting and supporting legislation to restrict any kind of benefit (perceived or real) to undocumented kids consider the chance that one of these kids creates some insanely profitable new venture in the future that could lead to Georgia jobs? I bet they’ll laugh hard when the future Georgia governor asks them to locate their HQ or facility here then…
B. Jones
March 6th, 2012
12:36 pm
What should we call these kids?
The people who got them here illegally are criminals. The proper term for them is “undocumented criminals”. But their children have committed no crime. I suppose “illegal alien” is the best term for them?
Visionary
March 6th, 2012
12:38 pm
Here is a vision: the future is in educating illegal immigrants and building more and more prisons. As it happens, one of California’s biggest and fastest growing industries is also the prison industry .. that’s real vision too.
There are real problems when a legitimate immigration process is ignored.
I work with legal immigrants, and they are welcome here;
The illegals are no longer welcomed here; please, take them in California.
I remember when college was free in California … not so long ago.
Marklar
March 6th, 2012
12:38 pm
Your parents came here illegally when you were young. They took the “unwanted” (actually the blue collar jobs) from Americans via pay reductions (no paperwork needed so no need for the Law). We let you go to American Public Schools (I paid for, and I have no children) where you forced English speaking students to learn your language (then you forced Corporations to follow with labeling of US products). Now you want to get a free ride? You need to go back to your homeland and apply for citizenship like everyone else (except the Europeans, obviously ego centrism) and take your criminal parents with you.
Native American, First American, Forgotten American
~Marklar
ideasbm
March 6th, 2012
12:42 pm
Hey Atlanta Mom. All these visionaries are from other places. They just migrated to Calif for the weather and cheap foreign programmers. Take a look at where these people are from. Not one is from Calif. Look at Jobs, look at Facebook founder, etc.
Crazy!
March 6th, 2012
12:43 pm
Why stop here? Efforts should also be made to IMMEDIATELY deter the enrollment of all those who are not native. Anybody without native American blood need to leave the state and return to the country of your ancestors origin.
Happy Kine and The Mirth Makers
March 6th, 2012
12:43 pm
Visionary
March 6th, 2012
12:38 pm
YES!!! Build more prisons and fill them up!! Fill them to the brim with the criminals…undocumented, illegal, legal makes no difference. Put the dregs where they belong.
MannyT
March 6th, 2012
12:44 pm
@Will…I hope your post is bad humor.
There is no way on God’s green Earth that out-of-state students and legal immigrants should be allowed to take one of the precious few and very limited spots from the law-abiding and taxpaying citizens of the state of Georgia…
Really?
1. I didn’t realize God had state residency requirements.
2. You don’t like out of state students? They pay more to go to state colleges
3. Make sure you take all the non GA athletes off the sports teams.
4. What level of law abiding are you requiring? I saw someone get a parking ticket. No college for you.
5. Many 18 year olds do not pay taxes aside from the consumption taxes that any person who purchases something in the state does. Do the people that pass through, get to transfer their taxes back to their states?
6. The more you try to close the state, the less opportunity there will be. We need to interact with other states and countries to grow the economy. The more you lock down one place, the easier it is for the rest of society to exclude it.
This doesn’t even begin to address the reality that the undocumented students did not bring themselves here. If they have done the right things, it is a shame to exclude them from the opportunity to educate themselves and contribute to society.
deegee
March 6th, 2012
12:46 pm
It is astounding to know that the Georgia legislators want to deny an education to students that are driven to excel in school despite their illegal immigrant status, and give their seat to a US citizen that is entitled to it by the nature of their birth right. This is yet another example of why the U.S. is failing to attract and maintain skilled jobs. The illegal immigrant kids would do themselves a favor by going to Canada to study.
Centrist
March 6th, 2012
12:46 pm
The AJC and their liberal reporters and bloggers are pushing the Dream Act which has been introduced/rejected by Congress the last 12 years including when Democrats controlled all three branches of government. It isn’t going to pass anytime soon, either. As noted by the overwhelming support of the Georgia Senate bill – things are going the OTHER way.
And by the way – they are ILLEGAL alien students – not your liberal euphemism “undocumented”.
Rival
March 6th, 2012
12:52 pm
I don’t think anyone is saying they get a free ride as they would still have to pay in-state tuition. I think the proposed law keeps them from even applying for admission, which is dumb.
If I want to go learn in China or Japan at a specialized or highly-regarded institute so that I have marketable skills in a global economy, I can do that. And I would be welcomed along with my tuition money. Why can’t our leaders look at it like that?
Oh, yeah: because the Gold Dome is run by rednecks. And I say that as someone born and raised in Georgia by rednecks.
jd
March 6th, 2012
12:53 pm
“Undocumented” includes those students who arrived with all the papers — but those papers have “expired” — 80% of those students are from Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan — hardly enemies of the state. Course, those who bang the illegal drum won’t allow ignorance of the difference to be noticed…
Ignorance begets more ignorance
@DeeGeeDuh?
March 6th, 2012
12:56 pm
They will do us ALL a favor by going to Canada. Let’s pray the illegal alien takes the advice?!!!
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
12:57 pm
MannyT
March 6th, 2012
12:44 pm
TAXPAYER-funded state colleges and universities should be for Georgians first and foremost. Out-of-state students and so-called legal immigrants take very limited spots away from the Georgian citizens that these institutions are intended to serve first-and-foremost.
Out-of-state students and legal immigrants should not be allowed to take spots away Georgians and should have little, if any, priority in the enrollment process of the University System of Georgia. UNDOCUMENTED and ILLEGAL students should not even be apart of the process or even the conversation about who should be enrolled in our publicly-funded colleges and universities.
Also, any private institution that accepts public funding in the form of financial aid should also be restricted from accepting undocumented students who should in no way be allowed or encouraged to gain an education at taxpayers’ expense in the state of Georgia or, for that matter, the United States.
There should be NO room for further compromise, nuance or even discussion on this issue as letting or encouraging ILLEGAL immigrants and UNDOCUMENTED students to be in the state of Georgia in any way, shape or form on the taxpayers’ dime in totally and completely UNACCEPTABLE. Period.
Jimmy62
March 6th, 2012
12:58 pm
Why are you lying? They have documents. Heck, I’m sure Georgia Tech has documents with their names on them.
What they don’t have is a legal right to be here. That makes them an illegal alien under the law. You can make up new words and definitions, Mrs. Orwell, but if there’s a single document with their name on it, then you are a liar. And even worse, you are trying to change language to suit your needs. Disgusting.
If you can’t discuss an issue without changing the meaning of words and making up lies, then maybe the problem is that your view of the issue is really messed up and needs to be seriously rethought. If you can’t make an argument without lying, then you’ve already lost.
Centrist
March 6th, 2012
12:59 pm
Here is a compromise suggestion. ILLEGAL immigrant students who want college degrees could get them cheaper in their home countries. Legal immigration (and eventual citizenship) has preferences for trained workers, so they can already move up in line to LEGALLY come back. Most voters seem to like the idea of expanding LEGAL immigration, so maybe we should give even better preferences for those who were educated/ acclimated here as ILLEGAL students.
Hootinanny Yum Yum
March 6th, 2012
1:00 pm
When every non-minority, legal resident student in these United States is afforded the opportunity to attend the college of their choice as opposed to being passed over to let a less qualified minority attend that college, I’m all ready to DISCUSS allowing “undocumented students” to access the educational opportunities available in the United States.
Until then, ah, NO.
Jimmy62
March 6th, 2012
1:00 pm
BTW, I’m not saying these illegal aliens shouldn’t be able to go to college. I’m not making a stance on that issue at all.
I just wanted to point out how the columnist is an Orwellian liar who should be ashamed of her cynical manipulation of language to get her own way.
Stankonia
March 6th, 2012
1:07 pm
You have to be a seriously pathetic piece of white trash to feel like you have anything to fear from an undocumented student taking your place or spending your tax dollars at a Georgia college.
I know that probably hurts the feelings of a lot of good hard working Christian folks at the Capitol, but it’s true. Soon enough, GA, SC and AL will all be flat broke because they spend all their time screaming “Show me the brith certificate” and “what part of illegal don’t you understand” instead of using what little brain power the good lord gave you to try to figure out how to bolster the local economy.
Crybaby, ignorant hypocrites. Every one of you.
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
1:08 pm
Centrist
March 6th, 2012
12:59 pm
Compromises are totally and completely UNACCEPTABLE on this issue. Once illegal aliens and “undocumented” students leave U.S. soil, there is NO desire to see them comeback. Encouraging more legal immigration is also unacceptable, especially in an environment where jobs for U.S. Citizens are still far-and-few between.
Once the illegals leave, they should stay gone, with no opportunity to return to take educational, employment and career opportunities from Americans.
Big Al
March 6th, 2012
1:09 pm
A university system full of folks from Georgia (as the last Democrat suggests) would be HORRIBLE. I agree that illegal immigrants should be the last ones accepted (and then should pay a higher tuition than any other classification to make up for the free ride they have gotten), but excluding out of state folks and legal immigrants would result in a student population with nothing to teach each other. Let’s keep the focus where it should be, on excluding illegal aliens (or charging them enough to result in lower tuition for those here legally).
JH
March 6th, 2012
1:11 pm
If these “Undocumented Students” are so darn motivated and intelligent, why can’t they figure out how to become a Legal Citizen of the US?
If these “Undocumented Students” have all this money that they are spending in our economy and on higher education, why don’t they want to invest some of that hard earned cash to become a Legal Citizen of the US?
Did the parents that forced these “Undocumented Students” years ago not come to the US to seek a better life with the dream of their children being a Legal Citzen of the US?
All these years have passed where they could have saved money and taken the time and smarts to become a Legal US Citzen, why haven’t they done that?
Why didn’t any of you that support and care for these wonderful “Undocumented Students” take the time in all these years to help even ONE of them become a Legal US citizen?
Finally, I propose that those that support and care for these “Undocumented Students” put your money, compassion and intelligence where your mouth is and Adopt An Alien! Please stop typing now and come to the direct aid of these poor souls. Years, even decades, have passed and the time to act is NOW!
GA = America's cancerous tumor
March 6th, 2012
1:13 pm
Hey Hootinanny, I like how you can’t even keep the issues straight. I know it’s hard when there are so many people out there that need hatin’.
You wrote that you want non-minority students to have priority for admissions above minority students, assuming all are in the country legally and are similarly qualified.
Thanks for clarifying what all the good Christians at the Capitol are really thinking.
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
1:15 pm
Jimmy62
March 6th, 2012
1:00 pm
“BTW, I’m not saying these illegal aliens shouldn’t be able to go to college. I’m not making a stance on that issue at all.”
Illegal aliens should not be able to go to college, at least not in the U.S. anyways, because they are not supposed to even be here in the first place.
We here in Georgia cannot affect policy how it pertains to permitting illegal immigrants and undocumented students to attend publicly-funded colleges and universities in other states.
But we in Georgia can start by taking a stand against illegal immigration and banning illegals and undocumenteds from any and every college and university in the state that accepts taxpayer funds in any way, shape or form, both public and private.
JH
March 6th, 2012
1:20 pm
Can these “Undocumented Students” (or their parents) first pay back the taxpayers for the free / cheap public education they already received in K-12?
Ron F.
March 6th, 2012
1:21 pm
If a child is brought here as an infant or toddler, through no choice of his own, should he be banned from any education? Maybe if it weren’t so hard to get documentation and eventually citizenship, then maybe so many wouldn’t sneak in illegally. IMO, if they’re willing to risk the dangers/punishments to get here, they must want the chance awfully bad. So far, the ones I’ve met work hard and just want to have the chance at a life that they can’t get to in their home countries.
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
1:25 pm
Big Al
March 6th, 2012
1:09 pm
I didn’t say that we should totally exclude out-of-state students and legal immigrants from state colleges and universities, but they should take much less priority in the enrollment process than they do now while still being allowed to attend state colleges and universities in far fewer numbers.
There’s no way that a publicly-funded institution like Georgia Tech should be full of foreign and out-of-state students at the financial and educational expense of the Georgian citizens who flip the bill for the institution’s basic existence.
These colleges and universities should have to admit a certain percentage of in-state students, or lose their state funding (somewhere north of 95%, between at least 95-100% of the student body of be made of in-state students).
Pompano
March 6th, 2012
1:27 pm
@Rival – you are 100% incorrect! Just try sneaking illegally into one of the countries you mention and see how welcome you are.
JH
March 6th, 2012
1:29 pm
Are these “Undocumented Students” going to stay here after their very expensive higher education and become Legal US Citzens? Do these “Undocumented Students” think the almost lifelong crime of being illegal will look good on a resume?
Bets are “Undocumented Students” are future Silicon Valley “Cheap Labor”. Sounds like these Tech Titans are looking are investing in the present to save loads of money in their future payroll.
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
1:30 pm
Out-of-state students should not be allowed to take educational opportunities from Georgians, foreign students should not be allowed to take educational opportunities from American students and, ESPECIALLY, illegal and undocumented students should NEVER, in any way, shape or form, be allowed to take from legal U.S. Citizens.
There is no room for illegals in the educational process of the state of Georgia or the United States of America. Period. End of discussion.
Modify Senate Bill 458 to ban illegals and undocumenteds from all educational institutions in the state of Georgia, both public and private, that accept even one red cent of public funding and pass it into law TODAY.
NONPC
March 6th, 2012
1:32 pm
If I want to go learn in China or Japan at a specialized or highly-regarded institute so that I have marketable skills in a global economy, I can do that. And I would be welcomed along with my tuition money. Why can’t our leaders look at it like that?
You would have to go to Japan or China LEGALLY and pay their tuition for an out-of-country student. MANY international students come to the US LEGALLY to attend college and pay out of state tuition. That happens at nearly every college and university in Georgia, and will continue to do so. Our state leaders aren’t doing ANYTHING that every other country does on their own soil. There is no other country in the world that is more giving to illegal aliens inside their borders than the U.S.
Right Idea
March 6th, 2012
1:32 pm
@Big Al, has the right idea. If you are an illegal alien (not an undocumented student) and you want to go to college in Georgia, then we must first address the real problem – you are in this country illegally, period. If we must succomb to allowing these individuals to continue to break the law then we should make tuition rates double the current out-of-state tuition. At least that way, the legal students can benefit from the illegal ones in some respect.
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
1:37 pm
Ron F.
March 6th, 2012
1:21 pm
“If a child is brought here as an infant or toddler, through no choice of his own, should he be banned from any education?”
No, he or she should not be banned from any education. They should just be banned from receiving education here in the United States as they are not here lawfully, they are here ILLEGALLY, their parents came here ILLEGALLY, they were brought here ILLEGALLY, they have NO right to partake in receiving any benefit that is meant for American CITIZENS as they are NOT American Citizens and do not have permission to be here.
MannyT
March 6th, 2012
1:40 pm
@Will…I am fine agreeing to disagree with your 12:57 PM post. The opinion is clear, and we see it differently.
I do have one partially related question…later you mention in that post and later posts that out of state & legal students should have little if any priority in the enrollment process. Given that stance, what should be the state of GA/University System of GA position be on using federal funds within the public college & university system?
JH
March 6th, 2012
1:44 pm
When these “Undocumented Students” become highly educated adults will they become law abiding Legal US Citzens? They have been raised and taught to disregard our laws throughout their youth, what should we expect when the beome adults? Can we expect more of the same?
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
1:44 pm
Ron F.
March 6th, 2012
1:21 pm
“Maybe if it weren’t so hard to get documentation and eventually citizenship, then maybe so many wouldn’t sneak in illegally. IMO, if they’re willing to risk the dangers/punishments to get here, they must want the chance awfully bad. So far, the ones I’ve met work hard and just want to have the chance at a life that they can’t get to in their home countries.”
Not all illegals who come here have good intentions as proven by the fact that Metro Atlanta has the center of the Latin American illegal drug trade for the entire Eastern part of the North American continent.
Latin Kings, MS-13, Sur-13 and the Mexican Mafia are just a few of the Latin American street gangs and drug cartels that operate in North Georgia with a sometimes murderous penchant while dealing in crimes like drug dealing, gun smuggling, human smuggling, prostitution, child prostitution, money laundering, kidnapping, home invasion, etc.
danny
March 6th, 2012
1:46 pm
^^ Ignorant as h**l. Stop captializing ILLEGAL because I am pretty sure you follow to close, run red lights, don’t turn on your blinker when you turn or change lanes because all of these actions are ILLEGAL.
I am pretty sure that these illegals would be better citizens than you. In case you haven’t noticed is that immigrants build this country and continue to support it because our own people aren’t capable to do so especially in Technology because we want it easy, we want to sit around and think that a job is suppose to be giving to us and we don’t even have to be good at whatever.
I rather have a illegal than “Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?…..” type
deegee
March 6th, 2012
1:48 pm
Maybe I’m not looking at this issue the right way. Perhaps it would be best for the illegal immigrants to leave and open up the unskilled jobs to our native born college graduates with their degrees in history, anthropology, philosophy and English literature. Wouldn’t that be a better use of our federally funded education system?
Hootinanny Yum Yum
March 6th, 2012
1:48 pm
GA = America’s cancerous tumor,
Said nothing of the kind. For this country to remain competitive in a global economy, the best and brightest legal residents; regardless of their race, creed, color, sex or national origin; should be accepted to college purely on their performance.
As it is, under Affirmative Action and other quota systems, many better performing students are excluding from attending the colleges and universities they’d prefer to attend. So, not only do we support a system that discriminates against the best qualified, we breed resentment among those who were passed over.
So, now, you want a system that bypasses those who earned the right to attend the college of their choice, but you think undocumented students should be given the same pass.
The more we as a society fail to reward those who achieve, perform and work the hardest, the more we create a culture of dependency. The less competitive we’ll be globally. The more we embrace multiculturalism and social engineering, the further we fall behind China and India. You know, those bastions of multiculturalism.
My comment had nothing to do with hate. It had to do with survival. No, you want to talk about hate. Look in a mirror.
danny
March 6th, 2012
1:49 pm
Oh there is a reason why Georgia and it’s southern compadres such as Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina are the poorest states in the country in addition the least educated. It clearly shows especially in post / comments like this that education is important.
danny
March 6th, 2012
1:51 pm
Deegee, they already tried and none are willing to take unskilled jobs, why do you think the farmers are outraged by the law because they can’t find any AMERICAN to do those jobs. Why would they, its easier to receive welfare than to go out and hand pick cotton and water melons. When you can simply get food stamps, medicaid, etc. That is what our people do and that is why illegals work here.
Centrist
March 6th, 2012
1:54 pm
Liberals wish to equate ILLEGAL immigrant students with birthright citizenship (anchor babies) via ILLEGAL immigrants. While it is not the child’s fault that their parents came here ILLEGALLY, there has to be a distinction. Many citizens do not agree with birthright citizenship, but at least for now it is the law. Very few countries give birthright citizenship – below is a list and you will notice the entire continents of Europe, Australia, Africa, and most of Asia and not on it.
* Argentina
* Barbados
* Brazil
* Canada
* Colombia
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Pakistan
* Peru
* Romania
* United States
* Uruguay
Do some research
March 6th, 2012
1:56 pm
Research indicates that in the overall population, a 1 percent increase in the number of immigrants with college degrees leads to a 9 to 18 percent rise in patent production. Open immigration policies are a feature, not a bug. That is something that we need….
Who these visionaries are attempting to assist are children brought here by their parents when they were young , by no fault of their own. They grew up here and went to public schools , which tax payers contribute to , why not allow them to continue their education in state since we have already funded their education? And a lot of them probably got better marks than their legal classmates..
From a lot of the posts here I would imagine that you believe that a child born to a cocaine dealing father should also go to jail….Just because their parents brought them here as children , does not make them criminals. They love this country just as you do , if not more , because they know how terrible conditions can be in their home country. People are so jaded that live here and take everything for granted. You would want to escape India , Africa , Mexico , Peru and the like as well.
Logic
March 6th, 2012
1:59 pm
What is the difference between “undocumented” and “illegal”?
Ron F.
March 6th, 2012
2:05 pm
“Not all illegals who come here have good intentions as proven by the fact that Metro Atlanta has the center of the Latin American illegal drug trade for the entire Eastern part of the North American continent.”
So they’re all guilty then? That’s like saying “all white people are racist” and punishing us all for it. Be wary of stereotypes and broad generalizations- they don’t make one appear more patriotic or American.
Jane
March 6th, 2012
2:09 pm
I feel that if you are not here legally then you don’t have right to attend state funded colleges and universities. I hear of a lot of students that were denied admissions to GA Tech because its full of foreign students. We in America need to think of America first. We are never going to get this country’s work force where it needs to be if we are not educating the people that live and work here. Most of the student that come here from other countries come and learn and then take it back to their countries and use it against us. The 911 bombers are prime examples.
We need to educate our American children first and let the foreign children get educated by their country. I for one am tired of paying taxes for foreigners. This is what it will take to get our work force where it needs to be to compete on a global level. We used to be a country that did everything for ourselves but now we depend on most of our goods and services from foreign countries.
We used to take pride in our country but now we are letting foreigners tell us that we can’t even speak our native language, we need to speak Spanish. We can’t celebrate our national holidays because it offends them. We can’t say “Merry Christmas, we have to say Happy Holidays.” And we have changed our core values to please them. Our kids don’t get a Christmas break they get a winter break. They don’t get an Easter break they get a Spring break. We are catering too much to foreigners.
Wonder...
March 6th, 2012
2:10 pm
What is wrong with requiring all persons to enter America legally?
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
2:12 pm
MannyT
March 6th, 2012
1:40 pm
“@Will…I am fine agreeing to disagree with your 12:57 PM post. The opinion is clear, and we see it differently.”
As I am fine to civilly agree to disagree with your position also, without juvenile name-calling and personal attacks.
“I do have one partially related question…later you mention in that post and later posts that out of state & legal students should have little if any priority in the enrollment process. Given that stance, what should be the state of GA/University System of GA position be on using federal funds within the public college & university system?”
Well, as much as I have my opinions about the makeup of student enrollment on college campuses, it’s still the Feds who have the ultimate say about how federal funds are used, but the state can still regulate who is eligible to attend state-funded colleges and universities.
The Feds have let it be known that the states are free to decide who can and cannot attend their publicly-funded universities, which also means that states can place restrictions on the state funding that goes to private institutions as they please, though they cannot necessarily fully regulate private institutions.
According to the purview of the Feds, states could restrict enrollment in their schools to only in-state students or students without criminal records in they wanted to and though it is my opinion that in-state students should take the ultimate priority in the enrollment process, I am pragmatic enough to accept that it is highly unlikely that there will be any further restrictions placed on the amount of out-of-state and legal foreign students in the University System of Georgia anytime soon, if ever.
guest
March 6th, 2012
2:12 pm
Ron F.,
You missed the point. To me, if one illegal alien commits a felony, then that’s one too many. Even though the percentage of illegals that commit violent crimes may be small, it is still too much compared to if they weren’t here in the first place.
Do some research
March 6th, 2012
2:18 pm
Jane – I was going to write a long diatribe response , but I will just say that you come across as more moronic than anyone who has posted here today…and that says a lot.
Ron F.
March 6th, 2012
2:21 pm
guest: got it- if one is bad, they’re all bad so get them out. We’re lucky other countries don’t apply the same rule to us. So the question is this: what do we do now? Do we just round up anyone who looks like they might be illegal and put them in camps until we sort them out?
wow
March 6th, 2012
2:22 pm
Do some research,
I disagree. Jane pretty much hit the nail on the head. The only thing she should clarify is the term “foreigner.” I think she means illegal alien.
hmm
March 6th, 2012
2:23 pm
So technically, could the tech leaders could be charged with aiding & abetting criminals?
)
guest
March 6th, 2012
2:25 pm
Ron,
I don’t know if you really don’t get it or if you are just playing dumb. How many American citizens have to be killed, robbed, raped, etc by an illegal alien before you acknowledge somthing needs to be done. It is easier to monitor legal aliens than illegal aliens. You can weed out a lot of violent offenders.
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
2:26 pm
Also, though I am very much against allowing illegal and undocumented students to attend publicly-funded colleges and universities, I could at the very least accept the prospect of allowing undocumented students to attend college at out-of-state tuition rates, if, and only if, there was a good-faith effort to DRAMATICALLY expand the number of higher education slots available to legal Georgian citizens from the roughly 310,000 spots now available to those seeking a college education in this state of just under 10 million to a number that is much more acceptable to attempting to provide Georgians access to a postsecondary education.
If the number of USG spots were expanded from under 310,000 to something upwards well north of at least 500,000 spots, preferably closer to one million spots, I could maybe possibly accept the enrollment of illegal immigrants at state institutions, granted they pay out-of-state tuition, but that is the only scenario in which I could accept undocumented students being able to enroll at state instituitions, otherwise, undocumented students should NOT be allowed to take spots away from Georgians.
Prof`
March 6th, 2012
2:29 pm
As to the question of whether legal international students should be accepted or allowed into our state universities, please consider that the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination in federally funded agencies or public institutions on the basis of race, gender, religion, or national origins. The 2003 Supreme Court decided to allow race to be considered in college admissions; and I’m sure many of you blogging here know that this is now being reconsidered by the SC. Maureen has just had several blogs devoted to that topic.
But it is still against the law to discriminate based on an individual’s national origin…which would include legal international students.
And @ Jane at 2:09, Jews are certainly not “foreigners”!
Do some research
March 6th, 2012
2:34 pm
@ Wow and Jane – So you guys actually think that Christmas break is now Winter break because of Illegal immigration?
It has to do with religion , the USA is a country founded on freedom of religion , thus making her argument , lame and pointless in a forum that is discussing a different topic.
Do some research
March 6th, 2012
2:35 pm
Thank you Prof….
wow
March 6th, 2012
2:38 pm
Research,
We don’t say Christmas anymore bc of the stupid PC in this country.
gdawg
March 6th, 2012
2:38 pm
Thanks, Maureen. For one of the few times, you and I are on the same page. I’ve been working for, voting for and supporting FISCAL Conservative Republicans since 1960 so I think I’ve paid my dues. I like what Senator Tommie Williams said yesterday. We should have enacted the Dream Act nationally when it was proposed by President Bush. Unfortunately Senators Chambliss and Isakson (both of whom tucked tail and withdrew their support when the D.A.Layne crowd yelled “foul.”
These children have done no wrong but we’re choosing to deny them an education. How much sense does this make? Farmers are losing money in Georgia and Alabama as a result of these laws. The price of farm goods produced in Georgia and Alabama will increase and we’ll end up importing some of those foods from foreign countries instead of exporting.
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
2:42 pm
Ron F.
March 6th, 2012
2:05 pm
“So they’re all guilty then? That’s like saying “all white people are racist” and punishing us all for it. Be wary of stereotypes and broad generalizations- they don’t make one appear more patriotic or American.”
All ILLEGALS may not be guilty of high crimes like the ones I mentioned, but the encouragement of illegal immigration for purposes of filling low-wage and manual labor jobs has also encouraged illegals to come here for purposes of other than just working jobs that either could not be filled by Americans during a previous period of economic expansion or that employers refused to fill with American workers has also greatly encouraged the vast expansion of the drug trade across the U.S. and especially here in Georgia which has become the major illegal drug distribution center of Eastern North America.
Drug cartels use the very large and until recently, fast-growing, illegal immigrant population to blend in to the point of almost being invisible to law enforcement and the naked eye of the average citizen.
U.S. Citizen criminals also prey heavily upon otherwise “law-abiding” illegal immigrants through robbery and other violent predatory crimes as they know that illegals who have been victims of crime are much likely to report the crime to the police for fear of being punished and deported due to being in the country illegally.
deegee
March 6th, 2012
2:47 pm
LOL! Jane has a distinction. She is the most xenophobic, ignorant poster of the day. If American students were half as motivated as foreign students, we wouldn’t be having a discussion about “getting our workforce where it needs to be.” The lazy, self-entitled American student and worker is driving US companies to foreign soil. A factory worker in Mexico is better educated, is capable of making Metric to Standard calculations, and has a better work ethic than the self-entitled American worker. Where else in this world can a child of any background get a free, public education from kindergarten to college and only 70% actually graduate from high school?
Will the last Democrat in Georgia please turn off the lights?.....
March 6th, 2012
2:48 pm
There’s also the illegals who drive without licenses and insurance who maim innocent people in hit-and-run crashes and then flee the scene with their illegal status making it difficult for them to be brought to justice.
Not-to-mention the and high and frequent prevalence of identity theft as illegals steal and use other people’s social security numbers and personal to illegally obtain employment and credit in the U.S.
Ron F.
March 6th, 2012
2:50 pm
“I don’t know if you really don’t get it or if you are just playing dumb”
Trust me, I get it. I’m still waiting for someone, anyone, to come up with a reasonable plan for what to do with them. We either have to find a way to get them documented (so we can track them as you suggest), or we have to round them up and ship them out. Which is more cost effective in your opinion? As I said earlier, if it weren’t so difficult to get permission to be here, maybe we could more easily separate the good from the bad. Just an opinion.
“How many American citizens have to be killed, robbed, raped, etc by an illegal alien before you acknowledge somthing needs to be done?”
Show me the numbers, please.
guest
March 6th, 2012
2:54 pm
Show you the numbers? Seriously? Do you watch the news? There’s no denying that a lot of felonies are commited by illegal aliens. Example, my parents were rear-ended by an illegal alien and ended up in the hospital while the illegal alien fled the country.
deegee
March 6th, 2012
2:54 pm
Oh, geez, Ron. They will go straight to NumbersUSA.com and get you all of the ginned up numbers you could ever roll your eyes at.
deegee
March 6th, 2012
2:57 pm
Oh, my. Guest has given us the scientific number “a lot.” He has personal experience with the number “one.”
jsf
March 6th, 2012
3:00 pm
It’s a country bumkin state-Georgia, now the klanish-haters could not do much to the blacks, they switch do it to another weak minority-”kids mostly” inorder to release their hates. They blame the poorest of the poor of their economic ill. Pretty soon bumkin Klans are going to go after the Hawaiians, the Porto Ricans, and tell them to get off their land next, all lands and residencies belongs to John Wayne and Jim Crow after all.
Ron F.
March 6th, 2012
3:01 pm
guest- I do, in fact, watch the news…every day, in fact. One example does not make a case, although I understand the passion of the response. I was hit by a white “citizen” of the country who had no Georgia license and was driving a truck registered out of state. He fled too and my insurance company had to pick up the bill- and it was tens of thousands. Never found the guy either. Neither situation was okay in my opinion.
So how do we separate the legal from the illegal? How do we process and “ship back” the illegal? How do we pay for it?
guest
March 6th, 2012
3:01 pm
Deegee,
Pull your head out of your &%*. If you really believe that the number of felonies commited by illegal aliens is not “a lot” I have a unicorn I want to sell you. Asking for a “scientific number” for this is like asking me to provide you proof that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
Besides, how many felonies commited by illegal aliens are you willing to turn a blind eye to?
Centrist
March 6th, 2012
3:05 pm
Here are some statistics:
In addition to the welfare, SSI, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF – 60 months), WIC, housing, taxpayer supported free hospital care, schooling with free breakfast and lunch, and crime – according to the U.S. Treasury Department, illegal aliens are bilking the federal government for billions because they are filing fraudulent returns. Buying these undocumented Democrat votes and ignoring deportation laws is hurting us badly.
The Treasury reported in July that the Internal Revenue Service coughed up $4.2 billion in child tax credits for illegal aliens in 2010 rocketed from $924 million in 2005.
ILLEGALS are fraudulently using the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), which was created to give more money to taxpayers who cannot claim a full tax credit for children.
Because all wages, even those earned illegally, are taxed, but since illegals cannot get valid Social Security numbers, the government needs a way to track their income and collect what is due. It does so using individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs), which, again, are for those taxpayers who cannot obtain a valid Social Security card. The refund credit can be claimed even even if no income tax was withheld or paid, up to $1,000 per child. An estimated additional $1.8 billion was going to illegals via the Earned Income Tax Credit, for which they are also ineligible because it can be claimed only by taxpayers with Social Security numbers. Assume they are voting illegally, too.
The report concluded that “[t]he payment of Federal funds through this tax benefit appears to provide an additional incentive for aliens to enter, reside, and work in the United States without authorization, which contradicts Federal law and policy to remove such incentives.”
http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2011reports/201141061fr.html
Illegal Immigration Statistics – http://www.illegalimmigrationstatistics.org/about/
According to the Paw Hispanic Center website, in their investigation of immigration crime statistics and the federal law courts records, 40% of all sentenced federal offenders were Latinos. Of those, 72% were not U.S. citizens.
13 people die every day due to illegal immigrants involved in traffic accidents.
$113,000,000,000 – This year’s cost of US illegal immigration. Approximately 75% of that cost is absorbed by the states.
$1117 – The average amount you and your family paid in taxes this year to support illegals.
$52,000,000,000 – The cost of educating the children of illegals. This is by far the single largest cost to the American taxpayer.
$2,700 – The average dollar amount a single illegal household costs the US federal government.
51% – The percentage of Mexican immigrant households that use at least one major welfare program. 28% use more than one.
1,400,000- The number of illegal immigrant households that use at least one major welfare program.
Add false unemployment benefits, and an additional myriad of welfare programs including food stamps, WIC, school breakfast/lunch, Medicaid, TANF, SSI, childcare, public/rent-subsidized housing, child and earned income tax credits (checks if no taxes owed), free cellphones. It is not necessarily just lazy people collecting these – they are making an economic decision if they are not too proud to live off of taxpayers. There is little stigma left with “living on the dole”. Example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoohkS6iyhY&feature=share
Hate to break it to ya
March 6th, 2012
3:08 pm
@ MannyT – I heart you.
Hate to break it to ya
March 6th, 2012
3:10 pm
The hate spouted here is heart-breaking.
deegee
March 6th, 2012
3:10 pm
Okay, guest. You got me. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west a lot.
John
March 6th, 2012
3:10 pm
Racist rednecks, y’all can’t survive without illegals because y’all are LAZY, makes you angry to see these kids go to college something yall couldn’t do haha
Ron F.
March 6th, 2012
3:12 pm
Centrist: your ’source’ here is a bit dubious. Why is it that sites like this have “data” from the federal government that isn’t widely published? Could it be contrived perhaps? I went to the site and can’t even find background information on who sponsors the site or who its operators are. I never trust a site that doesn’t publish its sponsors/owners.
Do some research
March 6th, 2012
3:14 pm
Guest – The point is well taken , we get it…But regardless of whatever laws we have here , criminals will exist (legal or illegal). The argument that the initial article has created is not whether illegal immigrants are criminals , it is on the grounds that the DREAM ACT should be passed to provide a path to citizenship for hardworking people who happen to be students in this country and grew up here , calling USA home. No one is arguing that criminals should be allowed in this country or that we shouldn’t kick criminals out. Being an illegal immigrant is a civil crime…and you are lumping them in with killers , rapists , etc. All these humans want is a chance to have a better life.
Ron F.
March 6th, 2012
3:15 pm
Centrist: BTW, you ever tried to apply for any of the government “giveaways” you listed so exhaustively above? I raised two foster kids who were on Medicaid. You have NO idea how challenging it was to do the paperwork and provide required documentation. And you don’t get it if you don’t have the paperwork, let me assure you. I know that from actually living through it, not because a website told me so.
Hate to break it to ya
March 6th, 2012
3:22 pm
@Centrist (are you trying to be ironic?): I’m sure a website titled “Illegal Immigration Statistics” is a perfectly unbiased and legitimate source of information for all the other “centrists” out there.
Maybe they also have statistics on the amount of federal tax, state tax, sales tax, Medicare/Medicaid tax, and especially Social Security tax paid by undocumented folks each year. Could you list that for us? Perhaps draw your data from a site equally as “fair and balanced” as “Illegal Immigration Statistics.”
williebkind
March 6th, 2012
3:27 pm
I have a friend who was in the military for 20 yrs. He returned home with a wife and 3 small kids. He had to go to work right away and did. After nine years he returned to college to finish up his degree. He got one year end before the vet program ended, he borrowed some money to finish but could not get any other help. He left college with just six hours left to graduate. Now you friggin liberals want to give money to illegal aliens for college. Where were you when this veteran wanted help? No government programs would help except WIA but the school would not sign the paperwork needed by WIA. So he is now sixty and working in a low paying job still paying bare minimum for the student loans which he will die before paying it offl. Where were you darling liberals for this man?
deegee
March 6th, 2012
3:31 pm
The anti-immigration sites that publish all of the statistics originate from the same place, Roy Beck and John Tanton. They are lobbyists that advocate for immigration reduction.
williebkind
March 6th, 2012
3:31 pm
Hate to break it to ya
March 6th, 2012
3:22 pm
Would it have been better for you if it were Federal website titled “Illegal Immigration Statistics” .
williebkind
March 6th, 2012
3:33 pm
At least it was not from the climate change group! After all, it is a consensus that illegal immigrants are illegal.
deegee
March 6th, 2012
3:36 pm
williebkind, where were you when your veteran friend needed help? Are you telling me that your 60 year old friend couldn’t figure out how to pay for 6 hours of college credit? If that’s the case then I don’t think he learned anything in college.
williebkind
March 6th, 2012
3:43 pm
deegee
March 6th, 2012
3:36 pm
I guess you do not know what it means to be “broke”!
Centrist
March 6th, 2012
3:43 pm
Disputing statistics is an age old battle for both sides. But ignoring the underlying problem they show is plain political partisanship. Even if you cut in half every one of those statistics – there is still a VERY obvious problem. It is NOT being ignored by a majority of voters or representatives – just a minority of liberal Democrats and most of the Obama administration.
williebkind
March 6th, 2012
3:44 pm
DEEGEE:
How much do you think that costs with graduation fees.?
deegee
March 6th, 2012
3:49 pm
It amazes me that an uneducated 15 year old kid from Guatemala can figure out how to traverse hundreds of miles of rough terrain, cross the border illegally, land a job in California without knowing a word of English, save his money, and then bring his family across the border; but a red blooded American citizen that spends 20 years in the military can’t figure out how to pay for 6 hours of college credit.
iTiSi
March 6th, 2012
3:53 pm
It’s a dead giveaway when a writer, columnist, etc. refers to them as “undocumented” or just “immigrants”. Those are the extreme far left liberals or Progressives(brainless liberals) in the news media who show bias or sympathy toward them in their writings. Some are very subtle with it but then some are just right in your face with it. Maybe if they are so concerned about their welfare they should start harboring them in their own homes.
williebkind
March 6th, 2012
3:58 pm
deegee
March 6th, 2012
3:49 pm
You got it DEEGEE! The illegal alien does not pay anything. The Veteran has to pay for it all. With a family and kids plus a low salary would make it almost impossible. Of course the kids could do without some things. The wife could baby sit maybe or wash clothes. No to mention we are living in Ga. where the only high paying jobs are located in metro areas. Did you forget that? We are in Ga. not California…..yeah I know fantasies get to seem real at times dont they.
Did you ever stop to think?
March 6th, 2012
4:00 pm
So, let’s say that the bill passes. Why not take the next step and rescind the citizenship of “anchor babies?” Then, rescind the citizenship of anchor grandbabies, and anchor great-grandbabies, and then anchor great-great-grandbabies. After all, none of them would be here if their ancestors hadn’t broken the law. Therefore their descendants should have no right to be here in the first place. Send them all back to their ancestral homeland! My guess is a lot of us would be on the next boat back to Europe or other places we don’t fit in anymore. If you think the borders are pourous now, just imagine how many illegals came into the US before night-vision goggles.
Do some research
March 6th, 2012
4:03 pm
Willieb – you are getting owned , just keep it shut.
southern hope
March 6th, 2012
4:10 pm
ugh, we’re such idiots here. And i can say “we” because I was born here. Only backwards states (hello south carolina & alabama) have done this and – once you dig into it – you realize what a nonsensical law it is….while some georgians are patting themselves on the back for their smart political move (i.e. pandering), the better students are finding their way to MIT & Standard & University of Chicago.
And I know many on this thread are thinking, “good riddance….let’s get these aliens out of here.”
grrrrr.
deegee
March 6th, 2012
4:19 pm
willieb, the illegal immigrant pays upwards of $3k for his passage. He has to repay the person/s that lent him the money to get here from the little bit he earns. There is no free ride.
Zapata Vive
March 6th, 2012
4:28 pm
http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=3b1e0f0c9693eb67668c49bbb&id=b1ee69f268
Zapata Vive
March 6th, 2012
4:30 pm
http://www.freedomuniversitygeorgia.org
Military is a job is it not?
March 6th, 2012
4:30 pm
Deegee, isn’t the military a job? So, why would a guy leave the military after 20 years, before retirement I presume? In fact, I believe just about anyone can join the Army as long as they’re fit to serve. I don’t hear about a lot of poor that enter the military complaining about the pay. I think willieb is just mad his buddy made some bad decisions and someone’s got to feel the wrath. Not to mention, it seems to me that his pal could get work picking crops, but it’s not a good enough job to support his family, nor one he’s really qualified to do now that he’s up there in age. Good thing we have … I mean had illegal workers willing to do that work us Americans don’t want.
Ron F.
March 6th, 2012
4:42 pm
Centrist: I hardly think anyone is suggesting we ignore a problem. But, without verifiable stats, who can genuinely assess what the problem really is? I’m not saying I like illegals and support giving them anything. I’m an independent who used to vote very conservatively- I won’t go into that issue here. But, how do we solve it? Do we round them up and ship them back? How do we pay for that? Noone seems to want to answer those questions, and they are valid. Is there a cost-effective way to handle this? I simply don’t understand why we can’t give the one who want to be able to have it some reasonable path to being documented or to become a citizen. The rest- send them back. Any suggestions about how to do that?
jsf
March 6th, 2012
4:44 pm
USA a country of immigrates, a proud melting pot of:
- Irish’s escape from potatoes famine (economic opportunists),
- Europeans try to escape the King and dictators rules,
- the Gold diggers and Indian killers
- escape the religeous proscution,
- the crazy, prisoners, and the unwanted outcasts from Europe in the 1700’s
and now their dump next generations legislates state laws to enforce Klan’s ideal to undermine with school kids of minority race.
Centrist
March 6th, 2012
4:52 pm
@ Ron F. The cost effective way for dealing with ILLEGAL immigrants is first to control our borders. The border states are taking a lot of that into their own hands because the federal government is reneging on that responsibility. The second thing to do is to make it less lucrative for ILLEGAL immigrants to sneak across our borders. More than just border states are doing that with E-Verify for employers along with fines and sanctions, drug testing for benefits, requiring real documentation of citizenship for benefits, deporting those who are caught and jailing repeat offenders, and restricting/denying access to higher education which is the subject of this blog.
teacher&mom
March 6th, 2012
4:54 pm
The only group guilty of taking away the “educational opportunities” of GA’s youth, is the group of foolish legislators who currently reside in the Gold Dome and the voters who send them back time and time again.
Victim of Illegals
March 6th, 2012
4:57 pm
If you don’t like the laws of Georgia, you’re welcome to run for public office if you’re a citizen. If not, you’re welcome to move. If companies find the laws of Georgia unappealing, they can move as well. There are clearly a lot of people who do support enforcing current legislation & strengthening it further.
Just because a lot of people are doing it, does not mean it is right and our leaders should not sanction or dilute laws.
I’ve had my identity stolen by an illegal 22 years ago. Have endured ridiculous amounts of time dealing with IRS/Ga dept of Revenue, clearing credit reports, medical bills & was almost arrested for a bench warrant when she didn’t show up for traffic court. Thankfully, I keep copies of police reports in my wallet “just in case”.
I have no patience for any illegal. Life is a cr*pshoot – yes, I was born in the US, not Mexico . But that does not justify others stealing – be it taxpayer-paid education, medical services, or social servces.
I have lived in stress when I get collection calls or something dings my credit. Terrified if I ge pulled over that the next officer might not look at MY documentation. I cannot imagine living in fear day to day of being caught -easily remedied by returning to one’s legal country of origin.
Illegal is illegal. I look forward to our state making Georgia undesirable to illegals. Those who are living/working in Georgia illegally can go elsewhere & mooch off another state.
Gio
March 6th, 2012
5:08 pm
You people have no heart for this kids it wasn’t there choice to come here illegally
Ron F.
March 6th, 2012
5:11 pm
Centrist: if you look at the numbers, it’s a lot more costly to jail someone than to educate him or her. So what about those who aren’t breaking the law? Is there a way for them to get documentation without punishment so they can be documented? I guess not living that, I don’t know how one would go about that. If they commit a crime, they should do the time- I totally agree with that. Thanks for responding reasonably. It’s nice to disagree and discuss things productively without the juvenile name-calling that is so frequent on blogs these days.
Centrist
March 6th, 2012
5:26 pm
@ Ron F. – The jail I referred to was for repeat ILLEGAL immigrant offenders before they are deported – disincentive to do it again.
The ones not breaking the law will continue to be under the radar – but there is no reason to offer them any documentation (as if they were stupid enough to accept it). If they are caught by authorities doing other work other than looking for them (too costly), they need to be deported. If deportation was more of a threat, fewer would risk sneaking in to set up ILLEGAL residency.
ConcernedAmerican
March 6th, 2012
5:43 pm
Don’t be fooled! The tech titans are only giving money to undocumented students because there is a shortage of white Americans entering the field of engineering, computer science, or any of the applied sciences. This has less to do with humanity then it does with simple math. If you increase the number of people studying these fields, you are more likely to find better qualified candidates to hire in the future. America, stop letting your lazy-ass kids get away with studying useless fields like photography and history.
Lawyers are history buffs
March 6th, 2012
5:54 pm
Just about all of my friends from college who went to law school majored in something “useless” like English, History or Political Science. Of course, it could be argued they’re still doing something “useless” being lawyers. The lesson here is that all of my lawyer friends are inept in mathematics, so always check the math whenver you get a bill from an attorney. It’s probably wrong.
Let Innovative Leaders open and pay for their college
March 6th, 2012
5:56 pm
These people want to provide college for illegal aliens “Jeff Hawkins, inventor of the Palm Pilot; and the family foundations of Andrew Grove, co-founder of Intel Corp., Mark Leslie, founder of the former Veritas Software Corp., and Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs — disagree with locking such students out of higher education.”
Well, if those influential people disagree with it then they can buy their own island, establish their own country and build and pay for the colleges for the illegal aliens — they need to put THEIR money where THEIR mouth is and keep their grimey paws off MY money.
GM
ummm
March 6th, 2012
6:03 pm
They’re doing it already.
Gio's Point
March 6th, 2012
8:25 pm
Gio makes the point that “You people have no heart for this kids it wasn’t there choice to come here illegally…”
“It wasn’t my choice either and I resent my tax money going to support them and their illegal immigrant families. All those who want to pay for illegal aliens should pay for them — all of it — and let those of us who don’t want them to leave our wallets intact. I need to support my own children and give what I can to real deserving Americans who need it.”
Charity begins at home — with American money for Americans. If we become so rich and educated that all Americans have enough, then we can seriously consider charity outside the borders.
If any American feels compelled to give their money to others and to illegal immigrants — they can — through voluntary donations instead of ripping my money out of my hands involuntarily.
GM
college prf
March 6th, 2012
10:47 pm
What is a “state supported” colleges? Most state colleges get about 40% of their operating funds from state. Many private schools also get state “support.”. Why is this legisration applying only to state schools?
Truthpaste
March 7th, 2012
8:26 am
It amazes me that an uneducated 15 year old kid from Guatemala can figure out how to traverse hundreds of miles of rough terrain, cross the border illegally, land a job in California without knowing a word of English, save his money, and then bring his family across the border …
but REFUSES to become an legal US citizen. If you can figure out how to cheat the system, then you are smart enough to figure out how to become a US citizen. Take that saved money and learn English and apply for citizenship.
It is a MYTH that all Illegals are hard working and look for the American dream. They want the American dream given to them and their supporters are nothing more than accomplices in the crime spree.
If you support illegals, then ADOPT AN ALIEN. Put your money where your mouth is help them directly. Prove your compassion and take them into your home and show them the way.
It is obviously easier for ILLEGAL ALIENS to sit around waiting for a handout and amnesty than to do the right thing. Lawbreakers support lawbreakers, period. You are all SCUM!
Prof
March 7th, 2012
10:45 am
@ college prf. According to the story above, “Sen. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, said his bill guarantees that taxpayer-supported colleges only serve citizens and those who are in the country lawfully.”
Is this what you’re referring to? “Taxpayer-supported” is different from “state supported,” and is very broad.
thomas
March 7th, 2012
1:19 pm
@ Prof,
How else a state support colleges without using taxpayer’s money? What exactly does the senator mean by “taxpayer-supported” colleges? I think what college prf said is that state colleges get only about 40% of operational budget from the state (I have no idea his/her number is accurate).
I’m not sure what you mean by ” “Taxpayer-supported” is different from “state supported,” and is very broad.” If it is “broader” then, as college prf says, shouldn’t the restriction also apply to private colleges?
Prof
March 7th, 2012
2:43 pm
@ thomas. I agree! College prf has quote-marks around “state supported,” so I thought it was a misquote of Sen. Loudermilk. Also, college prf notes: “Why is this legislation applying only to state schools?”
From the rest of the article, it seems that Sen. Loudermilk is referring to USG schools. I don’t believe that private colleges get any of their operational budget from the state. @ college prf: where did you get that figure?
deegee
March 10th, 2012
4:15 pm
Thruthpaste, get a clue. If you entered the US illegally you CANNOT become a US citizen. The law doesn’t allow it. Read before you write.
Ole Guy
March 10th, 2012
5:06 pm
If I sneak into, say Paris, without bothering to get a passport, will the Frenchies help me in my life-long dream of going to the Sourbone so that I might further realize my burning desire to be an aging artiste? NO!!! THEY’LL THROW MY SIX IN JAIL!!!