The Maryland Dream Act Vote is schduled for today...
A bill that would grant in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants will get a vote today in the Maryland Senate. The Maryland DREAM Youth Committee is leading the charge there–on their site (and on Facebook)
And the Post runs this editorial, with this key quote:
The legislation has been attacked by (mostly Republican) lawmakers who think that branding the students as illegal settles the debate. They raise the specter of swarms of undocumented immigrants receiving the Maryland tuition benefit, displacing native-born students on campus.
The reality is that undocumented students have been absorbed in the 10 other states that have granted them in-state tuition rates, which include New York, Texas and California. Many of the students are brought to this country as babies or small children by parents seeking work and a steady education - not thinking of higher education. Maryland education officials say they can handle the undocumented students, who would be required by the legislation to attend two years of open-enrollment community college before being eligible to apply to four-year institutions.
and this:
But consider even the short-term benefits to the state of producing hundreds of extra college graduates annually, as opposed to high school graduates or dropouts. The college graduates will earn more, pay more in taxes and contribute to economic activity that more than offsets the initial expense.
MD Residents - contact your State Senators - ask them to support SB-167