Pirate's Cove

Yes, I know, it is mostly Blogless Sunday. And, I had a great billboard picture I took that I was going to put up, will have to wait for tommorrow morning. This one has been bugging me, regarding the NC Bill to allow the children of illegal immigrants to not only be allowed to go to college, but to grant them in-state tuition.

Legislative researchers said that a bill that would offer in-state college tuition to some illegal immigrants could violate federal law.

But two sponsors of the measure said it’s a commonsense way to get the best economic return on people who draw on government funds just by living here — and similar programs are unchallenged in at least eight other states.

So damn the consequences, forget that it is against Federal law, it doesn’t matter to the NC Legislative critters. It kills me the way these people think.

Gerry Cohen, director of bill drafting at the North Carolina legislature, told The News & Observer in a story published Saturday that the measure contradicts a 1996 federal immigration reform law meant to discourage illegal immigration.

That law says illegal immigrants "shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a state … for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident."

See, illegal. Period.

Co-sponsor Rep. Jeff Barnhart, R-Cabarrus, said he believes the bill has practical merit. Because many of the 300,000 illegal immigrants in North Carolina are poor, they create an expense for state and local governments that pick up the tab for services they use. Making an education affordable would give the younger people a chance to make a greater contribution to the state’s economy.

"We’ve got a population we’ve got to deal with," Barnhart said. "Do we make them productive or let them keep showing up at the emergency room for the $550 flu?"

Or, we could just send them back. What part of illegal is not understood? Do these people ever look at a friggin’ dictionary?