DeVore Proposes Free State School Tuition For Guardsmen & Nixing In-State Tuition For Illegals
Posted by: Jubal | 01/11/2008 2:35 PM
This just came over the transom from Assemblyman Chuck DeVore:
BILL REPEALS $117 MILLION ANNUAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TUITION BENEFIT WHILE PROVIDING FREE COLLEGE FOR CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS
California Significantly Lags Nation in Benefits Provided To National Guard
Irvine, Calif. - In an effort to bolster membership and retention in the California National Guard, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) is proposing an education assistance program that would provide members of the Guard free tuition at state colleges and universities. Assembly Bill 1758: the California National Guard Tuition Assistance Bill was submitted to the Assembly this week.
Despite being the most called upon, California ranks last in the nation in education assistance for National Guard members. California is also the only state that does not provide free tuition to its Guard. In recent years, the Guard has been faced with retention and recruitment declines that experts blame on California's lack of available benefits.
"California is way behind the ball on this issue," said Assemblyman DeVore. "Whether it is being called up to serve in Iraq, Afghanistan, or called to protect citizens from raging wildfires, California consistently depends on its citizen soldiers for national security and community assistance."
This legislation would also repeal AB 540 (Firebaugh), a law passed in 2001 that allowed undocumented immigrant students an exemption from nonresident tuition fees. Texas granted illegal immigrants in-state tuition benefits the same year, seeing a 433 percent increase in illegal immigrants using the college subsidy, going from 1,500 students in 2001 to 8,000 in 2004. This cost the Texans millions of tax dollars.
In comparison, California likely has more than double the number of illegal immigrants enrolled in state colleges and universities than Texas. According to a recent Legislative Analysis Office report, there are up to 20,000 immigrant students in California receiving waivers from the state for tuition, both legal and illegal. The report said that about 90 percent of the immigrant students in California's Community College system alone are undocumented. This means that there could be as many as 18,000 illegal immigrants enrolled in California State University, University of California and community colleges receiving heavily subsidized in-state tuition rates at the cost to the taxpayer of about $117 million per year.
Since the cost to provide free college tuition for California's Guard members would be no more than $3 million per year, AB 1758 has the potential to save taxpayers up to $114 million per year - a substantial sum of money in a state with a $14.5 billion deficit.
"We have got to reverse the trend in California that rewards illegal immigrants and ignores our own citizen's needs," said Assemblyman DeVore. "Repealing taxpayer funded benefits to illegal immigrants frees up millions of dollars to provide much needed benefits to our men and women in uniform, and at the same reduces the size of government."
AB 1758 will first be heard in the Assembly Higher Education Committee.
CATEGORY:
California Stuff
Mr. Ayer registered as a Republican to be electable in an interim election with no incumbents. He did...
Great Chuck, why don't you start reversing the trend that supports illegal aliens right here in your own district by coming out publicly and making a stand against the Laguna Beach Day Labor site that has been squatting on California state land for the last 10 years!
The Judicial Watch lawsuit's Statement of Facts has proven that the director of the site has first hand knowledge it is serving ILLEGAL ALIENS.
Chuck, why won't you make a public comment about the Laguna Beach day labor site? You have been asked about it many, many times and you dodge the question again and again. The voting public want to know.
Assemblyman,
It is unfortunate that you would chose to attach such a worthy bill to the political hot potato that is illegal immigration. You know very well that this bill has no chance of passing, now that you have made it part of the illegal immigration debate. However, I suspect that you could care less about the bill passing and care more about shoring up your reputation on immigration. Providing free college tuition to the men and women that courageously serve our country is worthy cause that should not have been muddled with the immigration debate. By combining the two subjects, which you knew meant the death of the bill, shows that you care only about your reputation and putting on a show for the electorate. Fighting illegal immigration is a worthy cause that shouldn’t be done on the backs of our brave men and women in uniform.
And a detail left out; OC's first fatality of the Iraq War was an illegal immigrant granted citizenship upon burial. If you're going to deny an education benefit, then how about also making sure they can't serve in the military too.
Dan:
Those things have nothing to do with each other. Since we allow non-citizens to enlist in the Armed Forces, does that mean they should get to vote, as well?
Non-citizens should not vote. Citizens with felonies should not vote.
Illegal immigrants are encouraged by recruiters to enlist and serve our country in its defense. Upon completion, they are granted a "faspass" (another great Disney contribution to our society) to citizenship and ultimately the right to vote legally.
Wouldn't it make sense that as children they acheive an education? Even if they do not serve in the military, do we want uneducated people living and working in our society and economy? For the most part we don't have schools that are overcrowded, infact we have elementary and secondary schools closing due to low enrollments. We have industries that cannot find enough entry level workers to grow their businesses.
A full discussion of what our school districts do with the money they are given should take place, but the impact of uneducated people in our community should not be ignored.
And back to the point...Linking a great cause, the education of our veterans, to the immigration issue is "effing" with our troops, to use a Devoreism.
Its gamesmanship like this why we can't get anything done in Sacramento!