From the New Harford Democratic Club:
The Dream Act, which would allow resident immigrants to pay in-state tuition at Maryland public colleges and universities, is supported by a majority of Marylanders according to recent polls, but misinformation from those opposed could affect the outcome of the November referendum, according to a supporter of the legislation.
“This is a very winnable issue but it is going to take a big effort to get out the vote, “ said Elizabeth Alex, Lead Organizer for Central Maryland of CASA De Maryland, an immigrant support group leading the “YES” vote campaign. “We are reaching out to organizations throughout the state to register voters and urge them to vote yes.”
Speaking before the New Harford Democratic Club on Wednesday (June 6), Alex said opponents of the act, which was passed by the legislature last year, have been citing false information in order to convince voters to reject the act. Although the act passed the legislature, opponents were able to gather enough signatures from registered voters to have the legislation put to referendum in November.
The Dream Act would allow immigrants who have graduated from Maryland high schools to pay same tuition as all other graduates at Maryland’s public colleges and universities, if they meet certain criteria. “It’s a question of fairness and doing the right thing,” said Alex. “Even so, the bar is set very high and it is not certain how many immigrant students would be able to take advantage of the legislation.”
That hasn’t deterred opponents from issuing “myths” designed to convince voters to reject the act. She cited these examples:
• MYTH: The Dream Act will be too expensive for Maryland.
FACT: In the 11 other states with a similar program, short term revenue losses were offset by increased student enrollment.
• MYTH: The MD Dream Act will displace U.S. citizen children from limited in-state tuition slots in our universities.
FACT: Eligible students will first have to enroll in a community college (which is open enrollment) and then transfer to a 4 year university for the final two years. They would not be competing for in-state slots with other Maryland students; their slots would come from the quota for out-of-state students.
• MYTH: The Dream Act will only help undocumented immigrant kids whose parents don’t pay taxes.
FACT: To be eligible, students and their parents will have to file Maryland state income taxes for three years prior to graduating from high school and throughout their college career. The act also would benefit those awaiting relief such as asylum applicants, as well as military families and veterans.
“We believe that once the public separates the facts from the “myths” they will vote yes in November and allow the Dream Act to go into effect early next year,” said Alex. “But we can’t do it alone and need help from as many organizations and groups as we can get.”
The New Harford Democratic Club vote unanimously to provide financial support to CASA de Maryland in their effort to promote a YES vote in November.
For additional information on CASA de Maryland, visit their website: www.casamd.org
Fact: Those in favor of supporting and giving benefits to lawbreakers are enemies of the state.
The DREAM Act doesn’t give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. It gives in-state tuition to legal immigrants, who aren’t yet cititzens, but have paid taxes in Maryland for the past 3 years and graduated from a Maryland high school.
Just because someone isn’t yet a citizen, doesn’t mean they’re in the U.S. illegally.
Hey Why Not,
“The DREAM Act doesn’t give in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. It gives in-state tuition to legal immigrants, who aren’t yet cititzens, but have paid taxes in Maryland for the past 3 years and graduated from a Maryland high school.Just because someone isn’t yet a citizen, doesn’t mean they’re in the U.S. illegally.” – The synopsis for the Dream act states, “Extending the period within which an honorably discharged veteran must present evidence to qualify for a resident tuition rate; establishing that specified individuals, including undocumented immigrants, shall be exempt from paying the out-of-state tuition rate at community colleges under specified circumstances; requiring documentation that the student or the student’s parent or legal guardian has filed a Maryland income tax return during specified years; etc.” – Not sure if you are aware or not, but undocumented immigrants are here illegally…making them illegal immigrants…so, it does give in state tuition to illegal immigrants. Paying taxes does not make them legal.
Anyways, have a nice day.
Why is illegal immigration wrong? Because it is against the law. And why is it against the law? Because it is wrong. Wrong because it is against the law…
…and so the circular argument goes.
OK, here’s the question one more time: What part of ILLEGAL do you not understand? Your “circular reasoning” argument is one of the most pathetic straw men I’ve ever seen. It is against the law because the law controls immigration, lays out specific conditions controlling immigration, and this law would totally circumvent existing immigration law, rewarding the sneak-ins and the squatters, much as so-called “sanctuary cities” — and especially Maryland, which the ruling hegemony wants to turn into a sanctuary state — do. Sneak into the country and sponge off simpatico apparatchiks with the help of a supportive illegal immigration industry: Yeah, that’s America!! WRONG ANSWER!! But as usual, supporters of the Nightmare Act, disingenuously called the Dream Act, get their myths and their facts completely backward, and with intent.
The difference between “legal” and “illegal” ends up being nothing more bureaucratic technicality. The real differentiation is between those who come here to build a better life for themselves and those who come to take advantage of an ever-expanding welfare state. Yet people always use legal vs. illegal as a proxy for hard working vs. lazy.
If someone comes to this country because they are desperate to find work to feed their family, then they ought to be welcomed – legal or not. If they come here to collect handouts, they ought not be – legal or not. Stop making it so easy to live off the state (for immigrants and citizens alike), and the handout-seekers will stop coming.
I know many people who will fight tooth and nail against laws that unjustly deprive them of their liberty, but who are all too happy to defend laws that deprive someone else of theirs…
That was wonderfully stated Michael.
With unemployment above 8%, why would any sane person want to encourage ILLEGAL immigrants to choose Maryland to migrate to?
To label someone “Anti-Immigrant” because they oppose this law is nonfactual. To be accurate “Anti-Illegal-Immigrant”
Count me in as someone who will voting against the Dream Act.
Go ahead spew your hate.
My cousin married a beautiful woman from Thailand and it took her about three years to become a full citizen of this great country. She is here legally. She did what she needed to do and did not sneak across our borders in the dead of night and under the cover of darkness. It is impossible for an illegal alien to obtain a valid social security number. there fore they can never legally pay into the program, yet they make claims against the fund using fictitious numbers. They give birth in American hospitals at taxpayers expense. They live in Section 8 Housing and in some states they are the largest segment of the population claiming welfare. I firmly believe that there should be immediate deportations of anyone arrested and found to be in this country illegally. No matter what the circumstance.
Do you want to know what these anti-immigration folks are really afraid of? “Population estimates show that 50.4 percent of children younger than 1 last year were Hispanic, black, Asian American or in other minority groups…The latest estimates, which gauge changes since the last census, are a reflection of an immigration wave that began four decades ago. The transformation of the country’s racial and ethnic makeup has gathered steam as the white population grows collectively older, especially compared with Hispanics. The census has forecast that non-Hispanic whites will be outnumbered in the United States by 2042, and social scientists consider that current status among infants a harbinger of the change…the District and four states are majority minority — California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Texas.”
The Washington Post 5-17-12
Are they afraid that the day of the all-powerful white man may be over? Is this why they are also conducting a war on women?
Nah, Proud, the white guys aren’t afraid of that. It’s just an argument that you think helps your cause.
I’m one of those that you think you are protecting from the all powerful white people. Please stop. My family came to this country legally and went thru the legal process. I consider the illegals – sorry I know you prefer me to refer to them as undocumented – anyway, I consider them and those that assist them to be spitting on me and what I went thru. Rather than being afraid of the white guy losing his power I’m afraid that breaking the law for political expediency, especially the political expediency of the left, is becoming the norm.
Why are you afraid of/hate white men?
PTB,
you are a damn racist accusing others of being so. When will liberals get a brain?
and MONSTER you are only capable of ad hominem arguments because you have nothing intelligent to say (or you are incapable of intelligent remarks.)
I think what we want is for these folks to come into our country by way of the front door and respect our laws. As far as I know we are all pretty much immigrants. Just obey the law and I for one will welcome you with open arms. Break the law and then we should round them up and ship them back home, come back again and then we should let them stay in one of our many fine hotels for people who break the law.
@PROUD TO BE LIBERAL
There are many folks who are for legal immigration and against illegal immigration.
I did not realize that the Know Nothing nativist party had been revived? Have a great many people flocked to the Know Nothings to fight for anti-immigration?
I will go on record against the Know Nothings, the anti-immigrationists and illegal immigration, and fight for legal immigration for all ethnicities.
PORTER: I agree with you. What we should do is revise our immigration laws to encourage MORE legal immigration. We must make it easier for these productive, law abiding people to become American citizens. I think the biggest impediment to immigration reform is the deep seated fear that white men (i.e. most of our law makers and 99% of Republican/Tea Partiers) will no longer be ascendant.
I think the biggest impediment is the entrenched Dem/Libs who know the support they get from illegals. They won’t agree to stop the illegals no matter how you change the law. I’m not sure if I am a Tea Party guy or not. If I am I guess I’m in the 1%. You want to believe that the Tea Party is a bunch of neo-nazi hate mongers but in reality it is just a bunch of Americans who have drawn the line and said we they are not paying any more taxes. In reaity, anyone who thinks they already pay enough taxes is a Tea Party supporter. They just don’t have the bumper sticker.
Scott Walker sends his regards. Likewise regards are coming your way from San Diego and San Jose. San Jose? That bastion of liberals in the already ultra lib California? You mean San Jose got some chutzpah? Wow!
The GOP/Tea Party is the Party of Whine Without Reason.
• You people send our jobs to China and then complain about unemployment.
• You allow corporations to move their operations overseas and increase loopholes and then complain of deficits.
• You gut every agency that protects you from dangerous food and products and then complain about sickness and injuries.
• You decrease women’s health options and then complain about over population.
• You support NRA’s target to increase weapons to any and every person no matter how crazed and then complain about crime and murder.
• You decrease all safety nets to the poor and then complain about poverty (see also shipping American jobs to China.)
• You support unlimited secret funding of politics (Citizens United) and then complain of corruption in government.
• You consistently undermine education and teachers and then complain about how poorly American students do.
• You voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act for equal work as a continuation of your war against women.
• You are the most “religious” of people forever quoting the Bible and praising “family values” yet have the highest divorce and illegitimate birth rates.
• You rail against The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and do everything you can to destroy what is originally a Republican plan and then complain about rising health care costs and how uninsured people freeload off of those who have health care insurance.
• You obstruct and vote against every and any legislation suggested by Democrats and complain that Congress is ineffective.
Please explain this to me.
@PROUD TO BE LIBERAL
No, we should continue to give preference to highly educated, specialty skilled and wealthy legal immigrants who will be immediately acretive to our economy and not an entitlement drain.
We can increase the US immigration quotas of these folks irrespective of ethnicity.
What? And make all the naturally born Americans look like entitled self interested egotistical free loaders? Could we start deporting the ones that were born here and are a drain or a liability to society? I’m all for that. Let’s bring in some hard working people from outside the country to take the jobs that regular Americans can’t hold because the work is too beneath them. Oh wait… they’re already here.
Our economy would collapse with these workers. Businesses could not produce our goods and services with them. We should make a path to legal immigration easier. I do not hear any of you people condemning businesses for hiring them, therefore let’s do it legally.
What is this thing you have with white men? I think you are a hater.
The Dream Act is a sensible approach to solve the by products of a system that needs a major reform. They are not only the children of “illegal aliens,” but also our educated youth in whom we have put our precious and scarce resources. Why should not let them continue their education at an affordable level they earned through paying taxes and doing community service. Some of them are already in the path to US Citizenship. Many of them are the children of legal permanent residents. This is my case.
look up what CASA stands for. They are not friends of the country
The Maryland CITIZENS will vote this “Dream” Act down handily. Stand in line, take a number, get your citizenship and then and only apply for instate tuition.
Our CITIZENS need all the help they can get in this ongoing STAGNANT economy.
ILLEGAL is illegal. Stop spinning it, liberals.
BENZIEz: The economy is stagnant because the GOP/Tea Party has allowed big business to ship all of our jobs to China. If you want jobs, stop corporate welfare and tax loopholes for the 1%.
The GOP has allowed shipment of jobs to China? What planet are you from. I vividly recall Clinton being extremely pro-NAFTA and Ross Perrot talking about the giant sucking sound of jobs leaving. Take your head out. I don’t care of you are a flaming liberal just stop making up lies to support your view.
ALEA R: I’ll tell you what planet I’m from, the one that knows that the North American Free Trade Agreement does not include China. As far as I know, it is NOT in North America.
So where is your head?
PTBL, I could write a book about your ignorance and misconceptions. It would be useless. To put it succinctly- you are a jackass.
MONSTER: You are just proving my point!
Oh, and I am definitely not anti-immigrant. I am anti-lawbreakers.
Typical liberal mantra, if you are against something they believe in, they call you a racist. That tactic is getting old and no one is falling for it anymore. Get over it.
Proud to be Liberal, Arizona and a few other states have laws to prosecute people who hire illegals. Your President had his liberal attorney general have gone after them to stop this. You liberals take something so easy to fix and turn it into a cluster flop. I watched the young lady on Bill O’Reilly who was trying to have the word “illegal immigrant ” band because we are all human beings? Where do you loons come up with this crap?
Marc Eaton,
I can’t believe I am saying this, but good response and I agree with you.
C’mon, Proud. Let’s go down to all of the border towns along the Rio Grande and let’s go across just a few miles. Let’s look at all of the staging and assembly operations that are now there and that weren’t there pre-NAFTA. Let’s count the endless trucks coming into the US crossing that border bringing in literlly millions of tons of product that didn’t come in that way pre-NAFTA. I’ve been there Proud and I’ve seen it. Then let’s go a little further south and check out the tech support centers and the many operations that provide corporate data entry support to US based corporations. I’ve been there as well. Then let’s go further and visit the sewing sweat shops that produce shoes and athletic gear. Have you been there? I have.
Asia? Shoot, Proud, that’s been going on since just after WW2. Nothing new there. The Chinese are having a problem competing with the Koreans. Did you know that? A few banking support operations have also sprung up in the Phillipines. Check out Amex. Some clothing being sewn in Camdodia and Vietnam for really low end retailers. Yes, I know where Asia is and I know where NAFTA starts and ends. And I know that a lot of stuff from Asia goes to Mexico first because NAFTA has made it easier for that junk to get in to the US. Before NAFTA it couldn’t get in.
And you mean that the best retort you couild come up with to Clinton and NAFTA was China isn’t in North America? Whoa! I guess you told me!
ALEX R: Then you should want to help make it easier for more people to come here and contribute to society. Of course, not everyone is as successful, philanthropic and wonderful as you but they can try to make this country better.
You show absolutely no compassion or Christian values. You are typical of tea party people who, once they have theirs: the hell with everyone else. You had a difficult time bringing your Asian wife over, so, by God, no one’s going to get here. I would think that you’d want to ease legal immigration.
You refuse to acknowledge that it is big business that is shipping our jobs off shore. “Big businesses outsource jobs, drive down wages, acquire or kill smaller businesses, often hurt the environment, exploit workers, and pay off governments through lobbyists. And they harm local culture (eg. Starbucks replacing coffee houses in Europe, Walmart stores everywhere etc).”All enabled by Republicans.
All of the abuses you enumerated and committed by big business would be countered by strong unions. But would any of you fat cat Republicans work to improve the lives of workers?
And Alex, NAFTA is a Republican bill, pushed through by Republicans. Don’t try to shift the blame by re-writing history.
My wife is going to be really surprised to find out she is Asian. Can’t wait to tell her. Not sure where you got that. As usual you don’t know what you are talking about.
Here are a few facts for you. People I know in England love their Walmart and they will be really unhappy to hear that you don’t want them to have it. Their reaction will be “PTBL is a typical American that thinks he knows what we want and should have better than we do. Tell him to mind his own business and stay out of ours.” Walmart is the store that sells inexpensive stuff to people who want value and can’t afford or don’t want to afford more expensive stuff. Those are often the more economically disadvantaged – the same people the Dem/Libs say they want to help. Walmart isn’t a place that a limousine liberal such as yourself would shop. That’s okay but I do object to you telling other folks what they should do. See, that is UNAMERICAN.
As for SBUX everywhere in Europe I know of a few in London but they struggle mightily to compete with Nero, the most popular in the UK. I also know of several in Paris. Parisians seem to like it better than their own local stuff and they certainly wouldn’t patronize it if it wasn’t better, most especially since it is American. Not sure why you are so down on SBUX because they donate tons to the Democratic PArty. SBUX isn’t very popular in Italy or the Czech Republic, and there are a few in Vienna, the only other countries that I am familiar with. Did you know that there are more SBUX within a 10 block radius in Manhattan than in any major European city? See, before you start shouting out Dem/Lib mantra you should do a little research.
I’m still trying to figure out whether Clinton signed it or vetoed it. I have seen the transcripts of several speeches where he said he signed it and was proud of it. For now I will have to take his word for it over yours.
Thanks, Proud. Again, I’m really looking forward to telling my wife she is Asian. But then if I tell her that no matter what she thinks PTBL said she was Asian I suppose her reaction will be “Oh, well, then I guess I am. PTBL is never wrong.”
Just let me close with this thought for you. I always seem to need to remind you. I am very much in favor of legal immigration and very much against the breaking of the law and against those who encourage others to break it, whether it is you, or CASA, or companies large and small.
ALEX: Sorry, I thought I remembered a long sad story of how difficult it was to get your in-laws a visa from Asia just to go to Disneyland. My bad!
And what I am in favor of is to make the immigration process easier so we will never have “illegals” in our country. They just want to become citizens and I want them to become citizens. They pay taxes and follow our laws. You know the main reason Europe has so many problems with immigrants is that they can never become citizens, even if born in the country.
Would that have been the same reverie in which Bush signed NAFTA in to law. Proud, you really have to lay off the bath salts man.
By the way I just told her that I finally found our that she is secretly Asian and she said “Darn, I knew someone was bound to find out sooner or later.” Thanks for tipping me off. All of this time I thought she was Irish.
Okay, enough. If that was an apology it is accepted.
Don’t see anything wrong with this comment. What do you object to?