Illegals' Plight no Civil Rights II

Illegals' Plight no Civil Rights II

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

May 10, 2011

The DREAM Act is a nightmare for US citizens and taxpayers, who should come first.

If Erica D. Smith (Teen immigrants put their dreams into sit-in plans) has her way, we the taxpaying citizens will be ponying up to allow illegal immigrants to sit in college classrooms, paying in-state tuition rates.

What part of illegal escaped Ms. Smith’s vocabulary? Actions have consequences. Parents in this country illegally, with their children who are also in the US illegally, knew they were breaking the law upon arrival. Now it is time to pay the piper.

Start with the notion of in-state tuition – those in this country illegally should not only be denied the privilege to pay in-state tuition, they should not be allowed to matriculate in the first place – at any price.

Then, comparing life on campus with that on a military base does a disservice to the men and women in uniform. Illegals at frat parties should not be a path to citizenship. With proper vetting, maybe, five years of military service could be a path to citizenship – maybe.

Comparing the plight of illegal immigrants to that from the Civil Rights Movement is an insult to the legal American citizens denied basic rights. Illegal immigrants do not even have a right to be in this country, let alone make demands of it.

House Bill 1402 and Senate Bill 590 should be signed by Governor Mitch Daniels – not for some picture of posturing and a potential GOP presidential nomination, but simply because it is the right thing to do.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator who moved to Westfield two weeks ago.