Orr on comm. college memo

Submitted by ryanteaguebeckwith on November 29, 2007 - 6:52pm.
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Bob Orr opposes a move to require community colleges to admit illegal immigrants.

In a statement this evening, the Republican gubernatorial candidate said the State Board of Community Colleges should amends its policies in order to limit admission to legal citizens.

He argued that each student enrolled at a community college costs the state $4,031 a year. He said it was unfair to state taxpayers to allow illegal immigrants to enroll.

He also said it was not helpful to immigrants. 

"We're not helping ourselves or these individuals by allowing them to continue to seek state services while not resolving their immigration status," he said. "To do otherwise is to eliminate the distinction between a legal resident and someone in the county illegally."

Previously: Bill Graham, Fred Smith, Richard Moore oppose decision.

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Re: Orr on comm. college memo

Submitted by donny612 on November 30, 2007 - 5:50pm.

OK I get it...as long as the person performing the illegal act is paying for the privilege then the illegal behavior is acceptable? As long as these people are paying the out of state tuition and contributing more to the college's finances than it costs then it's ok. People!! What is the definition of the word ILLEGAL? Are we losing sight of it?

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Re: Orr on comm. college memo

Submitted by dahedgehog on November 29, 2007 - 11:57pm.

It sounds like Orr has never heard of something called tuition. Yes, it costs the state $4,031 a year to teach a full-time community college student. But - believe it or not - those students have to pay something called tuition. Illegal immigrants wanting to enroll in a North Carolina CC are charged out-of-state tuition, which is over $7,000 per year.

RTB, a reporters job is to leave his readers more informed after reading. You need to be pointing out these facts out to your readers, rather than making them read the comments section. If someone only reads your dutiful amplification of Orr's ridiculousness, they would leave here under the impression that illegal immigrants in community colleges are costing the state a lot of money, when in fact the exact opposite is true. Their tuition is greater than the cost of attending, and they're therefore subsidizing attendance for NC residents. Step your game up.

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Ah yes. Father knows best.

Submitted by Anglico on November 29, 2007 - 10:55pm.

Looks like Mr. Orr is getting back in touch with his Art Pope paternalistic roots. Poor illegal immigrants. We're not helping them by allowing them to get educated while they're up against the wall in virtually every way imaginable. It's okay for employers to hire them (wink, wink) and it's okay to take their taxes, but letting them get educated without having a resolved immigration status? Eh. Screw 'em.

With regard to the question of eliminating "the distinction" . . . Orr's answer is nothing but political double talk. There are plenty of other ways the distinction between legal residents and illegal residents is present in the lives of "these individuals" every day.

I expected nothing more from Smith or Graham. But I was operating under the delusion that Bob Orr would have the decency to address the real challenges behind this Republican game-playing. What a disappointment.

James

PS I'm not going to take back anything I've said about Orr's intellect, but all that stuff about being a thoughtful guy? That was nothing but wishful thinking on my part. Lesson learned.

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