Illegal immigrants refer to individuals who enter a country or nation without genuine permission of the country or violate the terms of their admission (Haugen 15). This document focuses deeply on a sided stand with reasons on why the children of illegal immigrants should have the same educational benefits as those of citizens. Todd Rosenbaum and Thomas Friedman elaborates on their reasons why the children of the illegal immigrants should be given same education rights lie the children pf the united states citizens. Todd Rosenbaum pointed out that lawmakers in different states have unsuccessfully tried in the past to ban enrollment of the children of the illegal immigrants in higher education institutions. Moreover, the majority of them are kept out of the universities and colleges because in-state tuition is not extended to them. Furthermore, this is compounded by the federal statutes that back these discriminatory clauses by forcing any state in extending any higher education benefits to illegal students. The paper will argue in support that children of the illegal immigrants in the United States should be given the same rights in education as the children’s of the United States citizens.
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Children of the illegal immigrants just like any other child of the citizens of United States have a wealth of opportunities ahead of them which can only be achieved with good college degrees. By encouraging the readers to imagine that they are students in a university, Todd Rosenbaum, brings out the plight of the children of illegal immigrants (229). Because of laws, the children of the illegal immigrants are not allowed to attend public education institutions, and they are unable to afford the tuition fees too. This forces them to withdraw from schools and losing hope of ever achieving their dreams or getting the opportunities they dreamt of achieving one day. Therefore, these children should be given same rights in education as the children of the United States citizens such as access to educational loans, grants, in state tuitions among others. Just like Todd Rosenbaum, Thomas Friedman also begins his article by narrating a dinner party he attended where most of the 40 finalists in the Intel Science Talent search 2010 were immigrants from Asia. From his narration, the reader gets to understand why children of the illegal immigrants in the United States should be given the same rights in education as the children of the United States citizens. They should be given the same opportunities in education to attract and retain them in an orderly fashion. This way, there would be a mix of high aspiring and energetic people and this result into a world intellectual and aspirational first draft choices. He further suggest that by keeping a constant flow of immigrants into the country is the key to the United States in keeping ahead of China. This is because magic happens when there is a mix of all high aspirational and energetic people in a free market and democratic system (237).
Illegal immigrants also pay taxes like other citizens of United States therefore should also be given equal education rights like the children of the United States citizens because. According to Santana, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) indicated that the illegal immigrants collectively paid in 2010 an estimated $10.6 billion to local and state taxes. For instance, they paid more than $2.2 billion in California, $2 million in Montana (1). Averagely, from their income they pay 6.4% as taxes. Similarly, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report in 2007 documented that that 50%-75% of the 11 million illegal immigrants in United States file and pay every year their income taxes (para 4).
The children of the illegal immigrants had no role or say in their destinies and therefore it is unfair to discriminate them by denying them educational rights. Some people will argue that why should benefits be extended to the people who have chosen to ignore the country’s immigration laws. But again, it is factual that most of these children of illegal immigrants did not make the choice of immigrating to the United States on their own. Todd Rosenbaum used an example of the commonwealth of Virginia. Few lawmakers in Virginia are applying all their effort to ensure that it is difficult for the children of the illegal immigrants to enroll in public universities and colleges in Virginia. Their chances of improving their situations are limited because in-state tuition is not extended to them. Moreover, the majority of them are barred from attending these higher education public institutions because they cannot afford it (Rosenbaum 230). The paper believes that the children of the illegal immigrants should not be discriminated by the lawmakers because of the decisions of their parents. Instead, the lawmakers should lay more emphasis on helping these young children of the illegal immigrants to acquire legal status. This also implies affording these children opportunities that will enable them to develop as responsible and productive society members. Thomas Friedman tells his story about his chat with Amanda Alonzo, a biology teacher who taught two of the finalists. Alonzo pointed out that her secret was the supportive resources from the school, grants from Intel and the supportive parents. If this could be copied by the governments, then more bright and innovative Intel finalists could be produced (237).
The supreme case ruling of 1982 that ensured that all people living in the United States should attend public and secondary schools with no regard to their legal status. Most of these students who are the beneficiary of the decision graduated from the public high schools, and were cable of even excelling in universities and colleges but unable to afford. With such educational progress, returning to their home countries is not a viable option but they should be assisted by the governments to pursue their higher education and realize their dreams (Rosenbaum 230). The argument for supporting equal educational rights is further supported by an argument by Thomas Friedman that the most important economic competition in today’s world is no longer about companies or countries, but between a person and his or her imagination. Therefore, discriminating against the illegal immigrants’ children because of their country of original in today’s world is not healthy. They should be supported and offered equal educational rights just like the United States citizens children. What the children imagine, they can act on them faster, cheaper and farther than ever before (Friedman 237).
Work cited
Rosenbaum, Todd. ‘Educating Illeal Immigrants’. Cavalier Daily 2006: 229-231. Print.
Friedman, Thomas. “America’s Real Dream Team.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Mar. 2010. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
Haugen, David M, and Susan Musser. The Children of Undocumented Immigrants. N.p., 2013. Print.
Santana, Maria. ‘5 Immigration Myths Debunked’. CNNMoney. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Nov. 2015. < http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/20/news/economy/immigration-myths/ >
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