Higher Education for Illegal Immigrants

Many people, particularly those in the mainstream media and academia, assume that the political “right” is a homogenous group of people who all share the same opinions, as if they receive marching orders from the same central command post. This is clearly not the case. Because the political right champions free speech and individual freedom, instead of limiting freedom by speech codes and collectivist economics, it is by its very nature the home of a wide spectrum of beliefs.

No issue better illustrates the existence of a broad range of opinions on the right more than illegal immigration. Recently, the question of whether North Carolina’s public universities and community colleges should enroll illegal immigrants gained the national spotlight, prompted by comments made by the state’s top higher education officials. The Pope Center for Higher Education Policy staff is divided on this issue, although they generally agree that illegal immigrant students should not receive taxpayer-financed subsidies in the form of in-state tuition. Two of these differing views are offered below: executive vice president Jane S. Shaw argues for enrollment of illegal immigrants at out-of-state tuition rates, while writer Jay Schalin suggests that such enrollment does more harm than good.

Read Jane S. Shaw’s article in favor of enrollment, Americans Want to Help Immigrants, Up to a Point.

Read Jay Schalin’s article against enrollment, Deconstructing America by Decree.