The choice is ours to help undocumented students

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Jesus has big dreams, as a kid should when he's 16 and the world is full of possibility. One day, he hopes to be a cardiologist.

Daniel, at 18, is a dreamer, too. He wants to be an architect. And 17-year-old José, a businessman.

There is, however, a big obstacle in their way. They are illegal immigrants, kids who were brought here when they were tots and are now public enemy No. 1 in the only country they've ever known. None is a citizen by birthright, yet all are Americans by upbringing. (Jesus' favorite food is orange chicken with white rice. What's more American than Chinese takeout?)

They're innocent bystanders in a national uproar over illegal immigration. In Arizona, the uproar was ratcheted up a notch this week after ASU President Michael Crow announced that the school is steering donations of general scholarship money to undocumented students.

Many, including me, were amazed that Crow would thumb his nose at voters who overwhelmingly decreed that undocumented students must pay out-of-state tuition, without any public help. Some, such as Hank of Phoenix, were outraged that I would question what ASU is doing with donations generated privately.

"Do the human race a favor and stock up on the cigs, booze and saturated fats," he wrote.

So goes the illegal immigration debate where both sides hurl insults and both sides have a point. Public officials should be steering money that they control to legal residents. Yet these kids are being punished for a crime they didn't commit. They've demonstrated, in the way they conduct themselves, that they deserve a break.

Before you bombard me with talk about aliens and invasions, let me tell you about a few of these students. They came here as babies and from the time they entered kindergarten they were told they could be anything they want, if they worked hard enough. And they believed it. So much so that they have actually begun college while in high school. They attend GateWay Early College High School at 40th Street and Van Buren. It's a charter school in a part of town where dreams of college rarely reach. Yet GateWay has a 95 percent graduation rate, and some students this year will be halfway to a bachelor's degree by the time they get their diplomas.

Some, not all. The school uses its public funding to cover community college tuition. Now, it can no longer do so for 37 of its 238 students. Yvonne Watterson, GateWay's principal, says it would take $86,000 in private donations to cover one year's worth of out-of-state tuition for her undocumented students. It broke her heart to tell them the money just isn't there and then to watch as they continue on as best they can, on the thin hope that the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act will someday give them a chance to become citizens of the only country they've ever known.

"The stereotype that people have about immigrants is that we're all criminals, that we're all drug addicts and gangsters," said José, who will graduate in May with both a diploma and an associate's degree. "They don't see these faces, that we're students fighting for our success."

He's one of the lucky ones. His dad has scraped together enough to pay for classes, for now. Daniel, who was in the college's honors program, wasn't so lucky.

There is a way for Hank and for anybody who wants to help the Daniels of this state without circumventing the law. You can write a check and designate it for an undocumented student. Send it to the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation (2411 W. 14th St., Tempe, AZ 85281) and mark it for GateWay Early College High School. Or, to the ASU Foundation, for an undocumented ASU student.

Given the law, public employees shouldn't be steering general scholarship funds - funds that could go to legal residents - to these students. As for the rest of us, we can choose to help someone like Jesus, who works two jobs and finished his freshman year in high school last spring with a 3.8 GPA and three college credits.

"You want to be better. You don't want to be struggling. You want to get your family out of poverty," he said. "I want to contribute back like the people helping me out. With my education, I'm not going to be cocky about it, but I'm going to make it to the top. I'm going to make it to the top. I am. It's just hard."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/columns/arti...oberts0915.html

[peejay 327]

Is there no end to rewards for illegal aliens? Will we ever control our southern border when the taxpayer funded gravy train is on the other side of the river? ####### Durban's D.R.E.A.M. Act is coming up for a vote in Congress real soon and I'm sure this story is another tear jerker to grease the skids for more illegal alien rewards and amnesty to slip through Congress attached to other legislation.

These illegal aliens are the responsibility of the countries they are citizens of and their predicament is the result of their parents choosing to break our laws. There are limited resources for American families and including the entire world in our largess is wearing thin. Especially when it comes to illegal immigration and illegal aliens.

I'm sure George Soros has money to give. How about you? You are free to give 'till it hurts, but don't include my tax $$$ to reward illegal aliens.

Edited September 15, 2007 by peejay

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Jesus has big dreams, as a kid should when he's 16 and the world is full of possibility. One day, he hopes to be a cardiologist.

Daniel, at 18, is a dreamer, too. He wants to be an architect. And 17-year-old José, a businessman.

There is, however, a big obstacle in their way. They are illegal immigrants, kids who were brought here when they were tots and are now public enemy No. 1 in the only country they've ever known. None is a citizen by birthright, yet all are Americans by upbringing.

Time these young men have a word with their parents who are solely at fault for the situation they're in.

[Ban Hammer 14,654]

yup, time to help them out.........

[Caladan 19]

If you read the article, the guy was asking for private donations, not public funds. But I'm not sure how much good that will do as even with a college degree, they won't have a legal right to stay here.

I really think, whatever solution to the immigration problem, that there does need to be an exception for people brought here at a young age. You can't expect a three-year-old to tell their parents that overstaying a visa is wrong and that she will not be breaking the law and will go home instead. And after someone's spent their entire remembered life, underage, in the U.S., speaking English, going to high school, it seems just wrong to deport them for something that was never their choice.

Immigration-wise, we'd forgive actual crimes committed if they were under 18. We'd waive a more serious crime if they agreed to marry an American they'd met once in person. (Behold the power of sex.) And this wasn't even their decision.

[peejay 327]

If you read the article, the guy was asking for private donations, not public funds. But I'm not sure how much good that will do as even with a college degree, they won't have a legal right to stay here.

I really think, whatever solution to the immigration problem, that there does need to be an exception for people brought here at a young age. You can't expect a three-year-old to tell their parents that overstaying a visa is wrong and that she will not be breaking the law and will go home instead. And after someone's spent their entire remembered life, underage, in the U.S., speaking English, going to high school, it seems just wrong to deport them for something that was never their choice.

Immigration-wise, we'd forgive actual crimes committed if they were under 18. We'd waive a more serious crime if they agreed to marry an American they'd met once in person. (Behold the power of sex.) And this wasn't even their decision.

This is what the D.R.E.A.M. Act (also touted in the article) is all about. Private donations? I don't think so. Is there no end to politicians going out of their way to encourage, enable, and reward illegal aliens?

The DREAM Act (Amendment 2237 to the Defense Authorization bill) is a nightmare. It is a massive amnesty that extends to the millions of illegal aliens who entered the United States before the age of 16.

There is no upper age limit. Any illegal alien can walk into a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office and declare that he is eligible. For example, a 45 year old can claim that he illegally entered the United States 30 years ago at the age of 15. There is no requirement that the alien prove that he entered the United States at the claimed time by providing particular documents. The DREAM Act's Section 4(a) merely requires him to "demonstrate" that he is eligible-which in practice could mean simply making a sworn statement to that effect. Thus, it is an invitation for just about every illegal alien to fraudulently claim the amnesty.

The alien then has six years to adjust his status from a conditional green card holder to a non-conditional one. To do so, he need only complete two years of study at an institution of higher education, including any vocational school. If the alien has already completed two years of study, he can convert to non-conditional status immediately (and use his green card as a platform to sponsor parents and other family members). As an alternative to two years of study, he can enlist in the U.S. military for two years. This provision allows Senator Durbin to claim that the DREAM Act is somehow germane to the defense authorization bill.

An illegal alien who applies for the DREAM Act amnesty gets to count his years under "conditional" green card status toward the five years needed for citizenship. On top of that, the illegal alien could claim "retroactive benefits" and start the clock running the day that the DREAM Act is enacted. In combination, these two provisions put illegal aliens on a high-speed track to U.S. citizenship-moving from illegal alien to U.S. citizen in as little as five years. Lawfully present aliens, meanwhile, must follow a slower path to citizenship.

It would be absurdly easy for just about any illegal alien-even one who does not qualify for the amnesty-to evade the law. According to Section 4(f) of the DREAM Act, once an alien files an application-any application, no matter how ridiculous-the federal government is prohibited from deporting him. Moreover, with few exceptions, federal officers are prohibited from either using information from the application to deport the alien or sharing that information with another federal agency, under threat of up to $10,000 fine. Thus, an alien's admission that he has violated federal immigration law cannot be used against him-even if he never had any chance of qualifying for the DREAM Act amnesty in the first place.

The DREAM Act also allows illegal aliens to receive in-state tuition rates at public universities, discriminating against U.S. citizens from out of state and law-abiding foreign students.

The DREAM Act also makes the illegal aliens eligible for federal student loans and federal work-study programs-another benefit that law-abiding foreign students cannot receive-all at taxpayer expense.

A consistent theme emerges: Illegal aliens are treated much more favorably than aliens who follow the law. There is no penalty for illegal behavior.

[Heracles 417]

If you read the article, the guy was asking for private donations, not public funds. But I'm not sure how much good that will do as even with a college degree, they won't have a legal right to stay here.

I really think, whatever solution to the immigration problem, that there does need to be an exception for people brought here at a young age. You can't expect a three-year-old to tell their parents that overstaying a visa is wrong and that she will not be breaking the law and will go home instead. And after someone's spent their entire remembered life, underage, in the U.S., speaking English, going to high school, it seems just wrong to deport them for something that was never their choice.

Immigration-wise, we'd forgive actual crimes committed if they were under 18. We'd waive a more serious crime if they agreed to marry an American they'd met once in person. (Behold the power of sex.) And this wasn't even their decision.

How can you not see through the BS..

Why not go to college back in Mexico???

[Caladan 19]

On the assumption that someone has never been to Mexico and has been here since they were a toddler, I think that they probably identify more as Americans than as Mexicans. I think the line should be drawn around age 10 or so, but I don't see a whole lot of justice in telling someone 'it's not your fault you're here, you speak English, you're just as qualified as any other kid to go college and more so than many American brats, but GO TO MEXICO even though you've never been there that you can remember.'

And 'they could lie and say they were here when they weren't' doesn't seem to make a lot of sense as a criticism, or at least it's about as good as saying 'but she could lie and say they've met in person when they haven't.' 'Demonstrating' seems to entail more than a sworn statement, and hey, if that's fraudulent, then isn't it cool that we can deport people for misrepresentation.

[Fandango 1,440]

What's more American than Chinese takeout?

Being American

Chinese takeaways are pop in the UK, maybe these kids are British now too

It's unfortunate that these kids are caught in the crossfire, but kids suffer their parents' decisions all the time without the gov't coming in to 'make it all better'.