WABE radio NPR in Atlanta
Regents Tackle Immigration

Martha Dalton (2010-10-12)

ATLANTA (WABE) – The board of Regents will consider a policy reform which would limit the enrollment of undocumented student at state colleges and universities. The American Civil Liberties Union has written a letter to the board, asking them to reject the proposal. WABE’s Martha Dalton has more.

The new policy would deny undocumented students admission to Georgia colleges that turned away academically qualified students in the last two years. The proposal would also require each school to verify the legal status of every student applying for in-state tuition.

Azadeh Shahshahani focuses on immigration rights at the ACLU of Georgia. She says undocumented students shouldn’t be punished for circumstances that may be beyond their control:
“Many of them, you know, came here at a young age. This was not a choice that they made, a choice that was made by their parents. They’ve gone to school here, they’ve graduated from Georgia high schools. Many of them are academically high-achieving students.”

D.A. King is the president of the Dustin Inman Society, which he describes as a pro-enforcement immigration control group. King says he’s sympathetic toward those students, but:
“Neither should we punish real, legal immigrant students for what their parents did not do, and that is bring them into the country illegally and violate our immigration and employment laws.”

Shahshanhani says keeping undocumented students out of the most competitive public colleges isn’t good for Georgia: Why would we not want to capitalize on the potential of these brightest students and deny them education?”

But King argues that legal residents should get priority when it comes to higher education: “If we allow one illegal alien to take the classroom seat of one immigrant who obeyed the rules or one hopeful American citizen, it’s too many for most Americans.”

The board is expected to vote on the proposed policy Wednesday

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