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Apr. 10, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: Panel OKs bill to halt benefits

State senators move to cut off education aid

By ED VOGEL
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- Illegal immigrants would be blocked from receiving Millennium Scholarships, college loans and in-state tuition under a bill approved on a 5-1 vote Monday evening by the Senate Human Resources Committee.

"This is about following the law," said Sen. Joe Heck, R-Henderson. "Federal law prevents giving post-secondary educational benefits to illegal residents. Opponents will say we are unfairly penalizing children for the mistakes of their parents, but this is about following the law."

Before the final vote on Senate Bill 415, the committee rejected an amendment from Sen. Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, that would allow illegal residents to continue receiving college benefits if they signed affidavits declaring their intention to become U.S. citizens.

"This is a human race issue," Horsford said. "These are human beings. We need to respect that they are children and trying to do what is right."

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    • Horsford proposed an amendment to allow students in the country illegally to continue to receive benefits if they start the process to seek citizenship. He added they would be required to pay the money back if they did not seek citizenship within a certain period of time.

    But Heck questioned how his proposal could be enforced, and the committee rejected the amendment. Horsford said he would propose the amendment again before the entire Senate.

    During a volatile hearing, Vice Chancellor Jane Nichols testified that the Higher Education System of Nevada estimates that 447 illegal immigrants are attending Nevada colleges and universities, of which 94 receive Millennium Scholarships. Overall 67,000 students are attending Nevada colleges and universities, and 17,000 receive the scholarships.

    Nichols said that for the purposes of determining whether someone is a resident, the system assumes all graduates of Nevada high schools are legal residents.

    The Heck bill does not offer guidelines on how colleges and universities would detect whether a student was in the country legally.

    Nichols said estimates of illegal immigrants attending Nevada colleges are simply best guesses. She did not return a call seeking information on how the estimates were made. The estimates are the first the university system ever has made on the number of illegal immigrants.

    "They are maximum numbers," she said. "We are not quite certain. We do not ask for proof of citizenship."

    The vote Monday is the first step in a long road before the bill becomes law. A similar bill was killed two years ago in the Democratic-dominated Assembly. Republicans hold a 11-10 edge in the Senate, while the Democrats control the Assembly 27-15.

    During the hearing, Hispanic leaders decried the bill, saying it would deprive good students of their chance to achieve the American dream of a college education.

    "These children had no choice over where they would reside," said Vincenta Montoya, a communications director for the Nevada Hispanic Democratic Caucus. "Yet they secured good grades. These are Nevada children."

    Otto Merida, president of the Latin Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas, called the Millennium Scholars "our best and brightest."

    "You would be denying students who have done what they were told to do," he added.

    Heck said a 2005 Homeland Security Department study determined 240,000 illegal immigrants live in Nevada. If 16 percent are public school students, then state government spends $257 million a year educating them. That figure is based on the current state expenditure of $6,686 per student.

    He added that a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision prevents states from denying public school educations to the children of illegal immigrants.

    But during the hearing, witnesses said 10 states have taken actions seemingly contrary to the intent of the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

    Most require students found to be illegal immigrants to sign a statement that they will work toward becoming citizens as a condition to keeping scholarships and other benefits, Horsford said.

    "There is nothing automatic about the federal act," added Richard Siegel, an American Civil Liberties Union lobbyist. "States can take positive action to have undocumented students continue to be eligible for scholarships. These students or their parents are paying Nevada taxes, sales taxes."

    If a university learned a student was not a legal resident, then "a high school valedictorian" could be denied an academic scholarship, or a football star "who scores touchdowns on Friday nights" could be declared ineligible for an athletic scholarship, said James Richardson, a Nevada Faculty Alliance lobbyist.

    But other witnesses gave their unqualified support for the bill.

    "What kind of message does it send to law-abiding citizens when our legislators dole out rewards to those who have been dishonest?" asked Rita Bonnilla, testifying by teleconference from Las Vegas.

    Eagle Forum President Janine Hansen called the legislation a "pro-American citizen bill that will help more Nevadans who are American citizens to achieve the American dream."

    Hansen said the federal government has failed to take care of the immigration problem and dumped it on the states.

    "There is a finite amount of money to educate students and that money should be prioritized for American students," she added.

    All four Republicans and Sen. Valerie Wiener, D-Las Vegas, supported Senate Bill 415, while Horsford opposed it.

    Sen. Joyce Woodhouse, D-Henderson, abstained, saying she hopes an acceptable amendment wins Senate approval. Wiener said she reserved the option of voting against the bill when it comes up for a vote in Senate if an amendment is not approved.

    Besides Heck and Wiener, the bill was supported by Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, and Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas.

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    Richard Williams wrote on April 14, 2007 03:55 PM: Thanks Senator Joe Heck for stopping the give away of things that Americans should be getting. We citizens need consideration before any non-citizens. We give away so much we make it attractive to immigrate illegally. We even help them get here by having such a lack of security. Don't we ever learn??? But for now thank you Senator.


    Terri wrote on April 12, 2007 07:28 PM: Thank goodness! Right on, Senator Joe Heck! I am sick to death of seeing illegal aliens get state benefits that we tax payers pay for... they are here illegally! The anchor babies of illegal alien mothers get full healthcare benefits, while we Americans don't qualify when WE run out of health insurance. Ask any social worker or healthcare provider. It is absolutely true. It's not right, my baby deserves access to the same medical care as the baby of an illegal. We need to cut off the magnet. We need to take care of our own tax paying American citizens.


    Dennis Carter wrote on April 11, 2007 04:39 PM: It's about time. Wake up politicians! Many of us are sick and tired of "selective enforcement" of our laws. The laws are there on the books and NOT being enforced because our elected officials currently believe they are not “politically correct”. All of the politicians expect us to "obey and respect the law" but they refuse to enforce it across the board. Frankly, I am looking for some way to charge the people responsible for non-enforcement with aiding and abetting criminal acts, derelection of duty or perhaps sue them. According to federal law, it can be a felony to knowingly aid and abet criminal acts. Illegal immigration IS a criminal act. This law is also unenforced as most of our immigration laws are. WHAT PART OF “ENFORCE THE LAW” DO THESE PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTAND?


    Randy wrote on April 10, 2007 06:03 PM: The word illegal by all rights means against the law. Why should you reward illegal behavior anymore than you reward illegal activity. If Americans must raise their children to know the laws, that if you break them you get punished, why should adults or children that are here illegally be rewarded if they themselves are illegal immigrants. It's beyond me what all the arguing is about, it's very simple. Illegal is illegal. If you are here illegally, you tag everthing possible with spray paint and don't get caught it's okay even if it's against the law because you yourself are in this country illegally, why should you care about our laws?? Right? Wrong! If their parents thumb their noses at our laws by being here why should we perpetuate the problem by continuing to let them break the law just because they have been..What a load of horse puckey that is..And as far as the illegals doing jobs that Americans won't do that is more Horse Puckey...teach us how to do the job and pay a decent wage so you don't get rich from slave labor..so we can at least live,which we can't because it's against the law to live 8 or 9 people to a small three bedroom house too. But then it's illegal for our government to steal from us and that happens every day. Where do you end it? Right here, right now.


    IGNORANCEISBLISS wrote on April 10, 2007 04:34 PM: THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT APPROVE OF THIS ARE IGNORANT YOU PEOPLE ARE SO GREEDY WHY GIVE SCHOLARSHIP TO PEOPLE THAT OBVIOUSLY DONT WANT TO DO ANYTHING WITH THEIR LIVES? I THINK THAT YOU SHOULD GIVE MORE MONEY OUT IN THIS STATE YOU HAVE SO MUCH MONEY HERE AND YOU GREEDY POLITICIANS CANT HAND OUT MONEY TO ANYONE THATS WHY ALL THE PEOPLE OUT HERE ARE IGNORANT EVERYONE FROM VEGAS IS STUPID, I WAS BORN AND RAISED OUT IN CALIFORNIA AND THEY ARE THE BEST STATE FOR ANYTHING I WOULD NEVER DREAM OF HAVING MY KIDS GO TO SCHOOL HERE WHERE ALL THE TEACHERS NEED IS A BACHELORS DEGREE TO TEACH THAT IS CRAP HALF YOUR SO-CALLED TEACHERS ARE ON MYSPACE SO WHAT ARE YOU COMPLAINING ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS YOU AMERICANS ARE IMMIGRANTS YOURSELVES, WHY DONT YOU BRING THAT UP OR THE FACT THAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS PUT MONEY IN YOUR STATE SYSTEMS BUT ARE NEVER ABLE TO GET IT BACK WHY DONT YOU DO THAT TO YOUR SO CALLED AMERICANS, I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN AMERICA AS A US CITIZEN BUT I AM ASHAMED TO CALL MYSELF ONE.


    Richard C. Streeter III wrote on April 10, 2007 01:27 PM: What don't people understand about "Illegal?" Suggestion: "Illegal Alien/Immagrants" will be allowed college education after serving for 4 years in the US military service of their choice. Then, following service, they can go to college at the US governments expense and becvome US citiaens at the same time. Let them earn their citizenship and college education!


    Rogelio P. Viado wrote on April 10, 2007 12:10 PM: I salute our State Government for finally waking up about giving educational benefits to U.S. citizens. I am a naturalized U. S. citizen; I came to this country legally. There are TOO many giveaways to illegals. Thank you for this great decision!


    Joe C wrote on April 10, 2007 11:57 AM: Janine Hansen is so right about or federal governments deliberate failure with the illegal immigration problem. Continuing to reward illegal aliens only encourages more to break immigration laws. Without ending the giveaways by government or employers hiring illegals this situation will never end. Otto Merida and other pro-illegal supporters have their own self-serving agendas and dismiss the effect this issue is having on many legal citizens. Great decision and thank you for finely listening to the silent majority.


    Sandra pazen wrote on April 10, 2007 08:25 AM: Good for the panel to halt benefits to illegal immigrates. Senator Joe Heck is right, it is about the LAW!! If we live in Mexico I'm sure we would have to follow their laws. If parents and their children want to have American benefits they need to file for citizenship. Americans get put in jail for tax evasion but they don't pay taxes and that should be a crime!!


    Debbie Jensen wrote on April 10, 2007 07:31 AM: This proposal is long overdue. Illegal immigrants are NOT law abiding citizens. They are now DEMANDING every right that legal citizens have. As far as I am concerned they have no rights in this country. I am disgusted with a government who will not enforce the laws of the land. Mexico has immigration laws that parralel our immigration laws. We could NEVER highjack their government the way the illegals have highjacked our government and our laws. The Mexican government loves this whole process as they are profitting from the monies the Mexicans send back to Mexico. We Americans are suffering from overpopulation of these people, Mexico benefits 100%. Something is wrong with the US letting illegals tell us how to operate in America. STOP THIS MADNESS YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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