Question:

Argument essay about “Should illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition? out-of-state tuition? the international student rate?” it is just a question. you dont have to use this sentence on the essay or anything. (i would like to say they can pay in-state tuition. but you can change if you think they need to pay more and it will be better to write.)

Answer:

Should illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition?

America has for many decades been grappling with a serious problem that greatly affects the way this country interacts with foreigners. This problem, which relates to illegal immigration, has ignited a debate on whether or not illegal immigrant-students should pay in-state tuition or not. Imagine a situation whereby an American student from Atlanta pays an out-of-tuition in an Illinois-based university while an illegal immigrant attending the same university pays in-state tuition. This scenario presents a tricky scenario that has triggered a heated debate on whether illegal immigrants should pay in-state tuition or not.

In-state tuition is the college or university tuition paid to a public college by a resident in his home state. In typical cases, this tuition is far less than the tuition that out-of-state students pay. The debate on whether illegal immigrants should pay in-state tuition has been going on for a long time. Although Congress allowed alien students to pay in-state tuition by passing the Dream Act, many people oppose this move by saying that it creates a situation whereby illegal immigrants pay less than American students.

People who follow current affairs both locally and internationally will appreciate that the problem of illegal immigration continues to become worse and worse as the world moves further into becoming a globalized society. Under US law, illegal immigrants may not hold any job within the country. On June 6, 2011, the Supreme Court rejected a court challenge to education policies that allow students with illegal-immigrant status to obtain in-state tuition in colleges and universities in California and 12 other states. In these states, all that students need to be eligible for in-state tuition is to have attended and graduated from any high school within the state. In this appeal, lawyers for a conservative group lobbying on immigration had argued that illegal immigrants should not be given any ‘preferential treatment’ because this is a violation of the federal immigration law.

Opponents of in-state tuition among illegal immigrants argue that by admitting these students to a state university, the immigrants are made to compete with American students for educational slots. According to Semple, the opponents contend that such competition constitutes an unfair bias against American students in other states, who are compelled to pay out-of-state tuition so as to attend university, yet the illegal alien-student is allowed to have an in-state tuition preference (2).

Moreover, the opponents point out the fact that the cost of higher education for the American middle class continues to rise. As this continues to happen for this growing segment of the US population, the only viable option, it turns out, is a subsidized education at local state universities. This reality is clear considering that admission in some state universities today is as challenging as joining some of the country’s elite private colleges. Under these circumstances, the decision by some state universities to offer illegal immigrants admission opportunities at subsidized, in-state tuition rates is seen to exacerbate an already worsening situation. For example, as Stein points out, in California, competition for a seat in one of the campuses of the University of California is already cutthroat (2). Stein adds that in this university, the total tuition subsidy per student per year is about $11,000.

It is also clear that the decision by some state legislatures to offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants means that some legal students are going to miss out on the coveted slots. Opponents of this idea argue that to add insult to injury, the parents of these students, who did not break any laws, will be subsidizing the education of children who refused to play by the immigration rules.

However, there is also another side of the debate, which consists of those people who support in-state tuition for all American illegal immigrants. As Mangan points out, those who argue in favor of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants look at the bigger picture, arguing that in the long run, the said states stand to benefit from the move (2). Mangan cites a report released in May 2011, indicating that states allowing illegal immigrants to benefit from in-state tuition record a 31% just in the college-going rate as well as a 14% decline in high school dropout rate among illegal Latino immigrants. The report, which was carried out by the Latino Policy Institute at the Roger Williams University also found out that the 11 states that offer in-state tuition rates appeared to be ahead of the pack financially at the time the study was carried out. The authors of the report argue that critics who argue that in-state tuition policies are a source of financial drain do not want to face the reality that most illegal immigrants would not afford to pay out-of-state tuition if at all they were required to pay such high rates.

Furthermore, the problem of in-state tuition for these people would not have arisen in the first place if a sound immigration was in place. Vedder notes that the opponents do not consider the many long-term benefits to be achieved by educating a financially disadvantaged person (4). They also do not consider the economic contribution that such college graduates would end up giving back to the community once they have been empowered to purchase more goods and pay more in the form of taxes.

The deep-rooted nature of the illegal immigration problem is clear if one considers the opponents’ argument that even after graduating such immigrants will not be legally eligible to work by virtue of being aliens. This flip-flopping continues unabated for a long time, and it is not a charged political issue across the country. This heated political debate has resulted to the creation of many state-level legislations. The fact of the matter has always that the American has a serious problem of illegal immigrants’ inability to afford out-of-state tuition fees. This problem can best be solved by enabling these students access in-state tuition. Other than that, the underlying problem of illegal immigration needs to be addressed through a comprehensive immigration policy.

Ledger notes that proponents of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants are on record for insisting that the US immigration policy has always been like a bad hide-and-seek game that no one wants to play (4). At an enormous cost, law enforcement agencies find and deport only a fraction of illegal immigrants entering the country every year. In a way, the country has been sending a message of encouragement to undocumented immigrants, who are made to feel that once they have landed into the US, they are entitled to all the benefits of US citizenship.

In essence, it is true that calling illegal immigrants law breakers does not help much. It is not realistic to demand that these people go back to their home countries and reenter the US using the proper channels. Although complaining that the illegal immigrants are taking up the resources meant for ‘real Americans’ may make the latter feel better, it does not solve the problem. It is better to help them assimilate and then later engage them in the work of building the country. This is a cheaper option than that of restricting services to them and then sending them back to their home countries. Therefore, illegal immigrants should be allowed to pay in-state tuition.

Works Cited

Ledger, Star. Illegal immigrants should pay in-state college costs, April 2, 2009, http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2009/04/illegal_immigrants_should_pay.html. (Google)

Mangan, Katherine. In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrants Can Be a Plus for Both States and Students, http://chronicle.com/article/In-State-Tuition-for-Illegal/127581/ May 18, 2011 (Google)

Semple, Kirk. In New Jersey, Bills Offering In-State Tuition to Illegal Immigrants Face a Fight, April 19, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/nyregion/20tuition.html (Bing)

Stein, Dan. Why illegal immigrants should not receive in-state tuition subsidies – Controversy http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0LSH/is_3_5/ai_95447605/, 2002 (Google)

Vedder, Richard. Should Illegal Immigrants Pay In-State Tuition?, October 7, 2011, http://chronicle.com/blogs/innovations/should-illegal-immigrants-pay-in-state-tuition/30474 (Yahoo)