COMMENTARY | Recently, Texas governor and GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry has come under some heat for his policy in the state of Texas to allow children of illegal immigrants to pay for their higher education in Texas at in-state tuition rates. According to Gallup polls, this topic is one that is very important to Republican voters 2-1 over Democratic voters. It is so importation to Republican voters that they strongly back anyone who stands up in defense of the law. This can be seen in the recent immigration lawsuit challenge between Arizona and the Obama administration where a full 79% of Republicans backed the state. Only 27% of Democrats did likewise.
According to the University of Texas website, the total cost for an in-state student ranges from $23,596 - $24,936. If you are a non-resident of Texas, your total cost ranges from $35,776 - $45,960. That means that Gov. Perry's policy benefits the children of illegal immigrants from anywhere between $12,180 and $21,024.
Supporters of the governor's policy point out that the children of illegal immigrants had no choice in entering the country and as such should not be punished. While that viewpoint has some merit, I ultimately believe it is a fallible one. The most obvious objection to this policy is that our government should not reward breaking the law. The most basic definition of a nation is an adherence to a common set of laws. When someone breaks that law, punishment not only should happen but is required to happen. A law breaker that goes unpunished weakens the whole Law.
We saw this type of degradation in 1986 when President Ronald Reagan struck a deal with the Congress led by Democrats. He would offer amnesty to the 3 million illegal immigrants then residing in the United States in exchange for sealing off of the border. In reality, amnesty was given but the border was never sealed. The rewarding of those who broke the law and the failure to close the door, directly led to the meteoric rise of new illegal immigrants. According to the Pew Research Center, today we have over 12 million in the country today with no signs of the border ever being sealed.
I realize that our current immigration laws could use some adjustment. I think that they could speed up the process for those waiting to enter the country. They could streamline procedures to help those who want to come and contribute to the nation in a timely manner. The path to citizenship should not be hidden behind a dark veil of bureaucracy and full of pitfalls. Rather, it should be well lit by liberty and well marked by the constitution.
That being said, allowing special benefits to the children of people who came to this country illegally while not extending the same to the children of citizens is wrong. I think this issue could prove to be Gov. Perry's Achilles heel in his bid for the Republican nomination.
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