From the Baltimore Sun Opinion page in short their view is:
A bill to allow community colleges to offer in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants is a good first step toward recouping Maryland's investment in the human capital they represent, but it doesn't go nearly far enough...
They describe the issue:
By the time its young people graduate from high school, Maryland has invested a lot in them — it costs the state nearly $200,000 to educate a child from grades K-12. You'd think, after that, we'd want as many of them as possible to attend college so they could join the well-educated workforce Maryland will need to be competitive in the 21st century. But some lawmakers apparently have a problem with that. They'd rather score political points by bashing immigrants than build up the human capital on which the state's future depends....
Never mind that these young people entered the country illegally through no fault of their own. Or that Maryland already has invested thousands of dollars in their education through the public schools, as required by federal law. Or that these are kids who generally have done everything right — studied hard, gotten good grades and stayed out of trouble...
As a result, students who have spent most of their lives as Maryland residents attending Maryland public schools are required to pay out-of-state tuition rates when they enter college in Maryland, even if their parents have been paying Maryland taxes.
There is more after the jump....
Then after describing a past failed attempt at a bill, they describe the current compromise bill:
Fortunately, Sen. Victor Ramirez has introduced a similar bill in this year's General Assembly. Mr. Ramirez, a Prince George's County Democrat who campaigned on a promise to extend in-state tuition rates to the children of illegal immigrants, knows from experience the value of education in helping immigrant communities achieve the American dream. But in an effort to mollify critics who claim undocumented students would take places from legal residents at Maryland's premier four-year institutions, where admissions are increasingly competitive, he has crafted an apparent compromise measure that still leaves much to be desired.
Senator Ramirez's proposal would allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at four-year colleges and universities. But to be eligible they would first have to complete two years of study at one of Maryland's public community colleges.
So they read it as a compromise, but a first step....
There's absolutely nothing to be gained from denying a shot at college to any kid who wants to improve his or her life through education — whether they're in the country legally or not. Maryland should be doing everything it can to encourage such people, not throwing obstacles in their way so politicians can boast how tough they are on immigration. Given the legislature's capitulation to such demagogy last year, perhaps Senator Ramirez is right to call his modest proposal a good first step.
Does anyone else have good information on the status of this bill and what is happening with it this week?