The
so-called "Dream Act," which would make some
illegal aliens*** eligible for in-state
tuition rates at
Maryland state colleges, is
expected to come before the full House next
week.
SB167 requires that aliens not lawfully present in the
U.S. must attend a
Maryland high school for at
least three years to be granted in-state tuition at a
community college, and must graduate from a community college
to be eligible for in-state tuition at a four-year college.
The student or his parent must provide proof that he had
income tax withheld or filed a Maryland income tax
return.
I listened to the Ways & Means Committee hearing Wednesday
as SB167 sponsor Victor Ramirez described his bill as an
"opportunity" for children of illegal aliens. However, I
remain firm in my long-standing opposition to this expensive
and unfair legislation, and I am working with the Republican
Caucus to defeat it.
Why are we even having this conversation at a time when our
public universities and colleges are raising tuition and
making cuts? The state faces deficits of more than $1 billion
a year for the foreseeable future, has a $19 billion unfunded
liability in the state pension system, and has a $16 billion
unfunded liability for retirees' health
benefits.
Maryland residents should
not lose their college seats to illegal aliens, and
out-of-state students should not have to pay more than illegal
aliens. SB167 is still in the Ways & Means Committee
today, awaiting a vote that would send it to the full House
for consideration. The Senate already passed SB167 by a
27-20vote.
The majority party passed a similar law in 2003, but it was
vetoed by then-Governor Bob Ehrlich for the same reasons that
make this a bad bill today, including the fact that it rewards
illegal behavior and has a potentially huge
cost.
Perhaps the key argument against SB167 is that it violates
federal law. Congress passed a law in 1996 preventing any
state from offering in-state tuition to aliens not lawfully
present unless the state extends the same benefit to
out-of-state U.S.
citizens.
According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform,
educating illegal aliens' children already constitutes the
single largest portion of the $113 billion cost of illegal
immigration to federal, state and local
taxpayers.
One of the most frequent questions I get from constituents on
SB167 relates to its requirement that these students or their
parents must have paid taxes to be eligible for in-state
tuition. Some constituents have pointed out that illegal
immigrants cannot legally work without a Social Security
number. My research shows that although they can legally
obtain an I-TIN (Individual Tax Identification Number) from
the IRS to pay taxes and file returns, they often obtain a
fraudulent Social Security number to get the
job.
***The word "alien"
is the term used in federal law to designate those
not lawfully present in the United
States.
For more information on
legislative action this week, you may be interested in reading
theLegislative Wrap-Up,
which is
produced by the non-partisan Department of Legislative
Services.
You may also want to
check out the Republican House Caucus
website.
