Colleges must admit illegal immigrants
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
By Chris Fitzsimon
Mark Johnson, The Charlotte Observer
RALEIGH - North Carolina’s community college system has ordered the state’s 58 campuses to admit illegal immigrants, overturning a policy of letting the heavily enrolled schools set their own rules for handling undocumented applicants.
David Sullivan, the system’s top lawyer, dispatched a memo this month telling the community colleges that state regulations require the schools to admit illegal immigrants who meet the schools’ basic requirements of being either a high school graduate or an adult in need of skills training.
“That’s just wrong,” said Sen. Richard Stevens, a Cary Republican and co-chairman of the higher education committee. “I can’t believe North Carolina taxpayers would be asked to pay for the education of people who are in this state illegally.”
Rep. Winkie Wilkins, a Democrat from Person County who is the head of the House committee on community colleges, said he was “blindsided” by the news.
The state’s community colleges focus on training and retraining the work force, usually through skills and trade education. Melinda Wiggins is executive director of Student Action with Farmworkers, which helps children of migrant agriculture laborers get into high school and college. She said barring illegal immigrants from community colleges penalizes youths who were brought to the United States as children. more…
Last 5 posts in Daily News
- For College-Bound, New Barriers to Entry - December 3rd, 2008
- Where’s Mike? Easley’s ’business trip’ is a mystery - December 3rd, 2008
- Taylor hosting annual Christmas dinner - December 3rd, 2008
- Rookies get their General Assembly bearings - December 3rd, 2008
- Mental hospital deemed unsafe - December 3rd, 2008
Email This Post
Print This Post
