Higher Education

A college education is expensive. State-sponsored institutions of higher learning in Utah offer lower in-state tuition fees to resident of the state because it is their tax money that is helping to fund these schools. Arguably, illegal aliens who do not pay taxes should not benefit from the money collected by the state from honest tax payers.

But what about the illegal aliens who have stolen identities and social security numbers to obtain jobs, which enable them to pay taxes? Should they not be able to benefit from their own tax dollars?

To be able to obtain employment in Utah, an illegal immigrant must commit up to three felonies (see the issue of illegal immigration elsewhere on this site). It would not be fair to punish the children who want an education just because their parents are felons.

The solution is simple. Students who are illegal aliens and who want to qualify for in-state tuition rates should be required to sign an affidavit each semester that states that they themselves have never worked illegally in the U.S. As long as they have not committed forgery, fraud, identity theft, and perjury to obtain a work permit - in other words, as long as they themselves are not felons - they can receive in-state tuition rates along with the children of tax-paying citizens. Otherwise, they forfeit their eligibility to receive tuition benefits. Felons are generally denied entrance into state colleges and universities. The standard should be the same for all applicants.

And by the way, when an illegal alien graduates from college, with or without in-state tuition benefits, he or she still cannot legally obtain employment in the United States.