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Tuition plan to help illegal immigrants
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David, a 17-year-old illegal immigrant poised to graduate from an Omaha high school, gets a little frustrated with his predicament.
Three years ago he scaled a wall to get into this country, where his mom thought he'd have more opportunity. He's managed nearly perfect grades.
Now he wants to study psychology in college, but his options are limited because of his immigration status. Meanwhile, he watches U.S.-born classmates choose destructive paths.
"Sometimes I think, 'Why don't we just switch places?'" said David, who didn't want his last name used for fear of deportation.
A proposal before the Legislature would ease the path to college for undocumented immigrants who have lived in the state three years.
Legislative Bill 239 will be the topic of a pro-immigrant rally Friday in Lincoln and a Tuesday hearing of the Legislature's Education Committee.
Introduced by State Sen. DiAnna Schimek of Lincoln, LB 239 would revise state law to offer qualified undocumented students the lower, resident tuition rate provided to other Nebraskans.
The bill would not create new eligibility for federal financial aid or bestow legal immigration status. Those changes would have to be made on the federal level.
Nationally, an estimated 65,000 undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for five years or longer graduate from high school each year, according to the national Urban Institute.
Of that number, 5 percent to 10 percent go on to higher education, compared with 75 percent of their classmates, said Josh Bernstein of the National Immigration Law Center.
Ineligibility for federal aid remains an obstacle despite in-state tuition rates.
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Students in this country illegally should not be allowed the same tuition advantages as residents. Common sense dictates that if the state is aware of someone breaking federal law, it should report that infraction to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. If such a breach of law deliberately goes unreported, it seems to me that the state is abetting a crime. Thoughts?
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It is indisputable that true beauty lies within...but a nice rack sure doesn't hurt.
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