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30 September 2010

Should We Educate Undocument Students?

Here is an interesting bit of news from Georgia:
The committee assembled by the State Board of Regents also recommended that all Georgia colleges verify every admitted student seeking in-state tuition to determine if the student is in the country legally....Of the nearly 310,000 students attending the 35 campuses that make up the University System of Georgia, 501 are classified as "undocumented" students....[C]ollege officials said the terminology can include U.S. citizens who didn't turn in forms.
Can we really call something that concerns less than 0.2% of those in the state university system a crisis?

Regardless, perhaps we should think about the future of such kids. One argument among anti-immigrant blowhards is that "illegal aliens" are a drain on state resources. (Forget for a moment that this argument is not supported by evidence and that, in fact, the opposite is likely closer to the truth.) Wouldn't granting the opportunity for a world-class education nip this (fictitious) problem in the bud? Higher ed increases one's chances of acquiring gainful employment. Denying immigrants a chance at education won't send them packing. They'll still be here, just less qualified to work.

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Thanks to Dr. Caitlin Powell for sharing the article.

1 comment:

  1. The picture portrayed is undocumented immigrants are coming here to perform the unskilled labor in farm fields, chicken plants, and construction. None of these require a college education as a qualification.

    Denying these workers or even their children the opportunity to go to college is a way of ensuring these labor forces. Much like slavery and Jim Crow were about ensuring certain people remained at the bottom of the socioeconomic classes. Or even India's Caste system is designed to keep children born to certain parents at that social levels.

    Of course, if I am right, then the next step will become illegal for an American to marry an undocumented worker.

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