<p>So are the tired, poor and huddled masses unjust or is the law defining their status as illegal unjust. </p>
<p>I think the latter, you think the former. </p>
<p>It’s a small difference in the big picture. I think there is much more similar to the current immigrants existence today as our grandparents existence 100 years ago. </p>
<p>Our forefathers and foremothers had the foresight to build the greatest nation that ever was. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Great, our immigration policy is based on a poem.
How special.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>True for immigrants.
Not true for illegal immigrants.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>There is a dividing line between legal and illegal. If you do not agree with this then I have a number of laws I would like to break (not only without negative consequences but actually with promised POSITIVE consequence). </p>
<p>Let’s start with…I’d like to not pay my income taxes. And, there are to be no negative consequences. In fact, the IRS should pay ME 7% interest on what I owe THEM. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>**The big difference is, 100+ years ago, there was no welfare state. ** It didn’t cost anything to support the huddled masses; they were on their own. </p>
<p>Now the huddled masses get all kinds of taxpayer-funded entitlements, and the taxpayers have to borrow, borrow, borrow, borrow to support the ballooning welfare state.</p>
<p>The world is a much more complicated place now. 100+ years ago, we also didn’t have to worry about terrorism. It is prudent now to monitor what potential nut-jobs are in our country.</p>
<p>Back in 1883 when Emma Lazarus wrote about the “huddled masses”, women couldn’t vote, and child labor was legal. Are you also going to advocate for a return to those practices? </p>
<p>A chart of U.S. Immigrant Population and Share over Time, 1850-Present.</p>
<p><a href=“U.S. Immigrant Population and Share over Time, 185.. | migrationpolicy.org”>U.S. Immigrant Population and Share over Time, 185.. | migrationpolicy.org;
<p>Immigration population (legal and illegal) started to decrease after hitting a peak around 1930 (with a peak of 14 million that year), till 1970 (down to less than 10 million). After 1970, immigration exploded, up to 40+ million in 2012.</p>
<p>Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States:</p>
<p><a href=“Article: Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigr.. | migrationpolicy.org”>Article: Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigr.. | migrationpolicy.org;
<p>My issue with the whole situation of illegal immigrants is our hypocritical official policies towards them. We have the doors shut with the barbed wire and guns at the border. We go after those whose paper work is running out for being here legally. But then we make rules rewarding illegals here. It makes no sense to me at all. If indeed, it’s so valuable to have immigrants coming in here, then so be it. Open the doors. But these patchwork rules in place to aid some here illegally as we are applying the old boot to others, is ridiculous. It makes our laws a mockery. It abets those who are breaking the law. </p>
<p>From what I see on Ellis Island, those who were greeted by Lady Liberty legally came here, as did my family. My grandparents, my mother, all came here legally, and it was not easy for them, particularly my grandparents. </p>
<p>My issues are not with those who came here illegally, but with are crazy laws that reward breaking our laws. Our hypocrisy. </p>
<p>I have no idea what the ramifications would be about solving this problem one way or the other. Not something I know enough to say. I do know that what we currently have is ludicrous. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Rather than hypocrisy, I like to think of it as equal-opportunity pandering to the electorate on both sides of the issue</p>
<p>Policy and ‘the law’ seem to conflict. Maybe Washington lawmakers aren’t doing their job?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>What a ridiculous argument.</p>
<p>Lazarus also was part of the Single Tax Movement. Are you also going to advocate for that?</p>
<p>It was a poem as part of a fundraiser. Are you also going to advocate that all poems become our public policy…or only the ones you like?</p>
<p>@Gator88NE So, does an american citizen returning to Florida from Latin America after 6 years qualify for in state tuition? Emphasis on returning</p>
<p>^^Maybe, if you were out of the country on military orders or always kept your Florida residency for voting, payinag taxes (car registration, home owners,business). If you just moved, and are moving back, then probably not. It really is no different if you lived in Florida, moved to Kansas, and moved back. You can’t tack on your residency.</p>
<p>Some years ago, I was at the funeral of a Chinese American. He was a veteran of WWII, and the US army sent along a bugler and a flag at his burial. I thought I knew the man relatively well, as one of his daughter married a closed cousin, and I have come to know all his five children. To my great surprise, he had a different name at the funeral and his age was not what I thought. After a bit of digging, I realized that he came to the US under false pretenses. There was no legal way for Chinese to immigrate into the US at that time due to the Chinese Exclusion Act. In any case, he served in the US army, owned a laundry (no joke), raised five kids who are all productive citizens, and his grandchildren all went to colleges with some in Ivies. </p>
<p>Immigration laws are continuously evolving to be more inclusive. Until then, we can all lend a helping hands to help children to be better educated, be it in state tuition waiver or second language programs. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/28/us-usa-immigration-children-idUSKBN0E814T20140528”>http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/28/us-usa-immigration-children-idUSKBN0E814T20140528</a></p>
<p>^^^
</p>
<p>This is a far more significant issue that Florida giving some Illegal Immigrants in-state tuition. Clearly the improving US economy and changing immigration policies are driving these increases. Dealing with it in a humanitarian way, without making it worse, is the challenge. </p>
<p>If you read the above link, keep in mind that it’s far harder to sneak into Mexico (from Central America), and once in Mexico, the authorities are very harsh toward “undocumented workers”. Getting out of Mexico and into the US was the easy part.</p>
<p>Back on topic:
If Florida sees a spike in underage illegal immigrants (over the next 2 to 3 years), it could cause them to re-think the in-state tuition policy. The law squeaked through and it could be challenged again in the near future (once it’s in place for several years, the law is much less likely to be repealed). </p>
<p>This is getting ridiculous.</p>
<p><a href=“Scores of undocumented migrants dropped off in Arizona”>http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/2014/05/29/scores-undocumented-migrants-dropped-arizona/9707503/</a></p>
<p>As a parent (of a UF OOS student) who is paying exorbitant out of state tuition, with no help from anyone, I am appalled at this decision! We are 6th generation LEGAL Americans who have worked and paid taxes to give our family the best possible life. We were told our daughter was qualified for academic scholarships (based on her exemplary high school accomplishments), but scholarships, just like grants, are based on need at UF, so she didn’t get one. Now people come in to our “house” illegally, and they are handed something we have worked our whole lives to earn. I have no problem whatsoever with helping those who need a hand up. What I have a SERIOUS problem with is rewarding, and thus encouraging illegal behavior. There should be consequences for breaking the law. In-state tuition at one of our country’s premiere universities is not an appropriate consequence. </p>
<p>We have many hard-working Americans who need a helping hand to send their children to college, and I have no problem whatsoever helping them. When someone shows me that this country has more resources than we need to take care of our own, I’ll talk about helping those from outside this country. But those who have broken our immigration laws are WAY down on my list of people we need to encourage and reward. We’re broke! We can’t keep giving out money we don’t have! And certainly not as an incentive to cross our borders illegally! </p>
<p>I think a lot of important issues are at stake involving enforcing our laws so the legal system is not a farce,which it has become in terms of immigration. Also, the fall out from all of this is not good. There has to be order and sense with these sort of rules or chaos rules. That’s where we are now and it’s going to get worse. </p>
<p>Sorry I clicked ‘Post Comment’ too quickly & can’t figure out how to delete my comment, but this was what I meant to post: As I said before, we, like many other parents I’ve talked to on this forum, were told there was no scholarship money for us, because those dollars are awarded based on need, not merit. So now we hear that those dollars are being given to illegal immigrants. We have SO many hard-working Americans who need a helping hand to send their children to college. No wonder there’s not enough money to help them, if these are the spending decisions being made by our lawmakers. When someone shows me that this country has more resources than we need to take care of our own (which we obviously don’t), I’ll talk about helping those from outside this country. But even then, those who have broken our immigration laws will be WAY down on my list of people we need to encourage and reward. We’re obviously broke! We can’t keep giving out money we don’t have! And we certainly shouldn’t give it out as an incentive to cross our borders illegally! </p>