This whole DACA is a pile of lies. It was initiated by Obama via executive order. He went on record saying it was temporary and would not hold up in the courts. By putting a good marketing label on it “Dream Act” it connotes innocent talented young children with big goals and motivations to excel. Let’s peel the onion.
1. Trump cancelled it with a 6 month grace period to allow the Congress to make it legal so the courts wouldn’t declare it unconstitutional overnight and cancel it in 24 hours. Every media outlet in this country declared Trump cruel and inhumane and a racist. Hence, they all lied through their teeth.
2. Most Democrats did the same.
3. The usual Republicans who hate Trump did the same. No need to list, you know who they are.
4. Like any cross-section of 800K people this group has statistical variations on the type of people included. But, when the original sample comes from uneducated, non-English speaking and poor families the results are skewed. So, there are kids going to and graduating from college. But, there are gang-bangers, murderers, rapists, thieves, sick, unemployed, unemployable, and addicted, as well. In larger numbers than the U.S. population.
5. They are not kids, some are in their late 20’s and early 30’s.
6. The media even went so far to suggest colleges may close if this happens. Hogwash.
7. The ones going to colleges and universities are going for free for the most part and many have taken a spot that a US kid might have taken since far-left liberal colleges like to promote their participation in this program.
So, like so much from the Obama efforts to turn this country into Venezuela, gullible citizens are being sold a bill of goods with the staunch efforts of the media to turn chicken s**t into chicken salad.
But, here’s the real issue from my perspective. Our kids and grandkids dream too. But, these same people who can’t do enough for these illegals can do enough to make life harder for our own youth. Youth that don’t get free tuition and grants but enjoy the Obama student loan program. The program that allows colleges to gouge them for tuition to cover the free stuff given to Dreamers and the bloated salaries, pensions, perks, and benefits given to every employee at every institution of higher learning. So our kids leave college with student loans of thousands of dollars that will inhibit their life styles for years. Diminishing their dreams to own a home, start a family, and live the American Dream.
Here’s an example:
Berg: Illinois universities charge high price for perverse priorities
Joni Sorce feels conned.
Her daughter graduated from Illinois State University in 2014. They now share more than $60,000 in debt. Sorce’s youngest daughter will graduate high school this spring, but her family can’t afford another degree from the Land of Lincoln. She’s looking for opportunity elsewhere.
“You have to be in the upper class or in poverty to be able to afford a good four-year college in Illinois,” Sorce said. She and her husband are self-employed in Streator, Illinois.
“The middle gets weeded out.”
Meanwhile, nearly 100 ISU administrators take home more than $100,000 annually, according to the most recent data from the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
Higher education is about students’ pursuit of knowledge, but Illinois universities have sought more material ends: Richer administrative payrolls, multimillion-dollar pension payouts, and other reckless spending choices have been the norm for years. This has led to rapidly rising tuition costs that restrict college access for too many families, not to mention legacy costs that crowd out scarce dollars for young scholars.
So those families send their students elsewhere. And many don’t come back.
Illinois has been losing the border war for young talent since at least the turn of the century, likely losing more than 150,000 students on net to other states from 2000 to 2014, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
And costs are only going up.
Lisa Maag is a proud Illinois mother who watched her daughter attend college elsewhere. After finishing in the top 10 percent of her class at Alton High, Lisa’s daughter did the simple math. The cost of attending her dad’s alma mater, University of Illinois, was more than triple her tuition offer from the University of Missouri.
“It’s a no-brainer,” Maag said. “It’s sad that she could not attend U of I, but it’s nice that there’s no student loan burden hanging over her head or ours.”
University of Illinois charges the highest average in-state tuition in the Midwest, compared with each state’s flagship university.
Gridlock isn’t why the system is facing financial troubles. Rather, administrative costs have effectively pulled higher education out of reach for families without the means to pay, or the means to leave.
Illinois spends more money on administrative and retirement costs than on university operations. The number of university administrators in Illinois grew by a third between 2004 and 2010, while the number of students grew by less than 3 percent, according to a report from the Illinois State Senate Democratic Caucus.
Now, more than 50 percent of the state’s $4.1 billion budget for public universities is spent on retirement costs alone.
This isn’t a funding problem. It’s a priority problem.
For further evidence, take a look at how universities are dealing with the budget impasse. Officials at Northeastern Illinois University, for example, have a simple message for students: It’s not about you.
The university was set to fire about 300 student workers due to a new state regulation that requires schools to eliminate all state-funded student and temporary positions before implementing furlough days for university staff.
So while about 1,000 NEIU employees will take five days of unpaid leave in March, hundreds of students would have lost access to jobs that help pay for their education.
Who are these schools supposed to serve, anyway? Thankfully, a legal loophole will allow the school to fire and rehire the student workers.
The truth is that Illinois’ head honchos of higher education for years took state and federal dollars and spent them not on student needs, but on their own desires. And then they hiked tuition. If these institutions had spent their money wisely, the whole state would benefit from new talent flocking to Illinois. But we know that’s not happening.
Thankfully, some universities seem to be taking smart steps to reduce costs, such as eliminating programs that overlap with similar public colleges and right-sizing payrolls. But the priority problem still remains. And tuition costs are still rising.
“I don’t appreciate the people who have fixed the system to make it impossible for someone wanting to better themselves through higher education, and yet they get things like automatic raises every year,” Sorce said.
“Not to say people don’t deserve good pay and benefits, but when it’s on my dollar, I should have a say.
Some information on Dreamer scholarships:
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an American immigration policy that allows certain undocumented students who entered the country before their 16th birthday and before June 2007, to receive a renewable, two-year work permit and exemption from deportation. In some states, like in California, AB 540 students may qualify to attend college and pay in-state tuition; being exempt from paying non-resident tuition. Be sure to know your status and all the eligibility requirements when applying for these kinds of scholarships.
There are specific organizations such as TheDream.Us that help immigrant youth and undocumented students who have received DACA status achieve their American Dream through the completion of a college education. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund also provides students a scholarship program, regardless of their immigration status, as long as students can demonstrate a commitment to advancing Latino civil rights through their career.
Not only do such organizations provide scholarship programs and opportunities, but they also have education resources based on your state – be sure to check your current or prospective college’s scholarship and financial aid opportunities to help fund your college education. You may need to conduct some personal research and stay updated on immigration policies, as they are constantly fluctuating and may have some gray areas. Even if a state does not have a DREAM Act, schools may offer merit scholarships that are not tied to federal funding. And remember to conduct a free search to see what scholarships you may be eligible for.
Below are just some scholarships available to undocumented students, or ones that do not request immigration status or citizenship. Read the eligibility and status requirements carefully when applying. You can find more information on these and other awards by completing a profile and conducting a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com.