Illegal Immigrants

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, who is fighting for political survival in the competitive 6th Congressional District, said during a televised debate Tuesday that he is conflicted about an upcoming ballot question that would let some illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition rates at Maryland schools. In the liveliest and highest-profile debate of the closely watched race, the Republican incumbent said the state's Dream Act pits concerns over "respect for our laws" against the economic benefits of educating immigrants and others.

First of three articles about state ballot issues On some level, Oscar Moreno knew growing up that his family did not have permission to live in the United States. But it wasn't until now, as the 17-year-old Baltimore Polytechnic Institute senior makes plans for a career in architectural engineering, that it seemed to matter. As an illegal immigrant - his mother brought him over the border from their native Mexico when he was five - Moreno does not qualify for in-state tuition at the University of Maryland.

Whether the issue is gay marriage, Vegas-style gambling or college for illegal immigrants, all of Maryland's ballot campaigns have this in common: They are lavishing attention on black voters. African-Americans are expected to be fully a quarter of the Maryland electorate this year, a surge in participation attributed to robust support for President Barack Obama. Their sheer numbers make them important as Maryland, for the first time in decades, faces a trio of major ballot questions.

The Maryland Democratic Party is asking state prosecutors to investigate what it says are "serious campaign finance violations" by a group that opposes the state's Dream Act. The director of the group called the claims "bogus. " Brad Botwin, who founded Help Save Maryland six years ago, described the challenge as "another violation of my First Amendment rights. " The Dream Act, if approved by voters next month, would extend in-state tuition breaks at the state's public colleges and universities to some illegal immigrants who have graduated from high school in Maryland, whose families have filed state income taxes, and who meet other requirements.

Dan Rodricks ' column on the Maryland Dream Act not only showed his obvious attempt to give tax dollars to illegal immigrants but his willingness to use veterans to do it ("Maryland Dream Act benefits veterans," Oct. 11). He correctly notes that "few people want to deny benefits ... to men and women who've served the country in the military," but then he qualifies that statement with something about veterans losing Maryland residency while on duty. The fact is that military members don't "lose" their Maryland residency while on duty - they have to give it up. Having been in the military for 32 years, both active duty and in the Guard/Reserves, I know about residency in the military.

The Baltimore Sun It hasn't received much attention, but there's a provision in the Maryland Dream Act, up for your approval or rejection on the November ballot, that extends a benefit to veterans. Voters ought to take note of it, because if we vote down the college tuition break for young adults who came here as undocumented immigrants, we'll be saying nay to a generous provision for men and women who served in our military, too. Says right there, in the last phrase of Question 4 on the statewide ballot: The Dream Act "extends the time in which honorably discharged veterans may qualify for in-state tuition rates.

Last year, Gov. Martin O'Malley signed Senate Bill 167 into law which granted Illegal immigrant college students the same tuition rate normally reserved for legal citizens of Maryland. Later, more than 110,000 Maryland citizens signed a petition to stop and block this law from going into effect. On Nov. 6, Maryland citizens will be able to choose whether to reject this unwise and controversial law via Question 4. For Maryland taxpayers to subsidize such a radical and unwise law to support Illegal immigrants with in-state tuition is a unjust and unnecessary burden imposed on us by our liberal governor.

Think you are an American citizen? Well think again, because you and I are probably illegal immigrants There were no humans born on the original land mass of what is today known as the United States. The National Geographic Society thinks that the first inhabitants migrated to the Americas some 13,000 years ago, and they are not sure who got here first. That means that even our "native" Native Americans may be here illegally. So let us get something straight: When a citizen gripes about letting all these "foreigners" in, they should stop to reconsider: he or she might be one of them.

Giving some illegal immigrants more access to higher education in Maryland could mean an extra $5 million a year for the state government, according to a new cost-benefit study by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The study found that the net benefit to local, state and federal government could be as high as $25 million. And it estimated an additional $41 million a year in private sector benefits. An analysis by the non-partisan Department of Legislative Affairs found that the Dream Act would cost the state about $3.5 million a year . The law, which will be on the Nov. 6 ballot, allows some illegal immigrants in Maryland to pay in-state tution at colleges and universities.

Many of the arguments on both sides of the debate about Maryland's version of the Dream Act are emotional. They deal with the question of whether it is fair to provide benefits in the form of in-state college tuition to students whose parents came to this country illegally, or about whether those who have known no home other than America should be denied the chance to achieve their fullest potential. But it is also a simple question of dollars and cents: How much will it cost, and what do we, the taxpayers, get out of it?