Under a federal law passed in 1996, states that provide in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants based on state residence must offer that same tuition rate to all citizens in the United States.
The suit contends that a 2013 law in Oregon, which gives undocumented immigrants living in the state access to in-state tuition, is “blatant unequal treatment,” favoring immigrants over U.S. citizens.
“This is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said in a statement.
Like I hate to say it, but I actually see their side on this one.
I get that Oregon is trying to give undocumented people a leg up and help out, but if it’s unequally treating people based off of the place that they were born, then that’s technically wrong and should be corrected.
The correct step would be to give undocumented people scholarships on a case-by-case basis. It’s a lot more work for a similar outcome, but at the very least, then it’s fair and equal.
They live in the state, they don’t live in another country or even state.
I guess the question is whether or not a public university has the right to their own definition of what “in state” means. Because while an undocumented citizen might be living in state, they are not doing so officially (they don’t have the documents).
Well, in my opinion them not having the documents is the governments failure rather than theirs. Getting a legal status in the US is a ridiculously difficult task, intentionally so.
So if they don’t go away at the end of the semester to another state or country where they actually live, then I think it’s fine.
Getting a legal status is hard because lots of people want it. That’s not the government’s fault. If I sneak into Korea and decide I want to be a citizen, is it now Korea’s fault that I don’t have the papers?
It’s intentionally difficult and confusing. People who had status have had it taken away. Immigration in the US is just plain evil.
Yes, yes, the direction opposite to logic, and toward bureaucratic corruption, sure. No one’s tried that before —just as there aren’t massively successful free colleges IRL, yep. Genius.
