On Saturday, Gov. George Pataki announced his plans to promote the passage of a law that would lower tuition for illegal immigrants at SUNY and CUNY schools to in-state resident rates.
The announcement came at the Somos El Futuro conference, a summit organized by Hispanic state legislators that attracted over 10,000 participants. Carl McCall, the state comptroller who is running against Pataki in November, said that the governor's plan was a way to pander to the Hispanic community, which Pataki has ignored.
This accusation is more than accurate. Pataki is the same politician who has tried to pass cuts in the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), which provide financial aid to low income and minority New York state college students. And, let's not forget that this not only an election year but that speculation of Pataki's aspirations to higher office is certainly credible.
Now, Pataki is suggesting not only to extend the educational privileges of being a New York citizen to illegal residents, but to do so immediately subsequent to supporting decreases in financial aid to many members of the same socio-cultural group who are legal New York residents.
What this amounts to is a shrewd play of politics. It is questionable if many illegal immigrants could even take advantage of a reduced tuition. Pataki knows that even if the measure passes, its actual effect will be negligible.
But if the policy is ineffective, words are not. The very idea of sponsoring this legislation gives tacit approval to the status of illegal immigrants. It suggests that the governor is endorsing New York as the home of individuals who do not have the legal right to receive public services and may encourage the influx of more illegal immigrants into the state. Moreover, it placates the legal lower-class minority residents who would otherwise still be smarting from the TAP and EOP cuts - with a very low actual financial cost to the state.
It is true that some illegal immigrants are a part of a valuable labor force that helps the state as a whole. This issue, however, is one of fairness. Many legal immigrants have to pay taxes to help fund the state's public education system even if they can't receive financial aid. Undocumented aliens obviously do not have to so they do not deserve to be afforded the same opportunities.
In 1982, the Supreme Court ruled that while illegal immigrants cannot be barred from grade school, they do not have the right to higher education. This is a realistic fiscal measure rooted in the fact that everyone living in this country has the opportunity to advance themselves, but also that there are certain privileges exclusive to citizenship.
Pataki's proposal is a denial of this principle, a flimsy disguise for pandering for votes, and could very well be a blow to his vote tally this fall. He should keep in mind that he is an employee of the citizens of New York state while trying to gather their support over the coming months.
