The best way to judge a country is to examine how it treats its children, even those whose parents arrive on the nation’s shores by boat or border crossing. Our country is diminished by immigration policies that deny educational opportunities to children to punish their parents. Every educated American is a boon to our nation’s economy, health and future.
My own grandparents were immigrants from Italy who eked out a living. Yet, all their grandchildren are college-educated, taxpaying citizens. And that advancement is owed to one thing: higher education.
Yet, Georgia is considering barring illegal immigrants from attending Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia and any other public college that doesn’t have space to admit all qualified applicants.
On a national level, the federal Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, which broadens access to higher education for immigrant children and puts them on a path to citizenship, is in limbo.
While the Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that illegal immigrants are entitled to a public school education, nothing in the ruling addresses their college status. Now, states retain the power to determine whether or not to admit illegal
