Breaking And Entering

Subsidies: Compassion does not stop at the border, the president tells us. But neither does common sense, fair play or the rule of law. Having trouble saving for your kids’ college? Try renouncing your citizenship.

Massachusetts is moving to become the ninth state permitting illegal aliens to attend its schools at rates charged to residents. This is a devaluation of the privilege of citizenship and a reward for law-breaking that will encourage even more illegal immigration. It’s also illegal.

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And while it may seem unfair to punish children for the illegal actions of their parents, it’s also unfair to say the child of a law-abiding citizen of Des Moines must pay $18,767 to attend the University of Massachusetts while an illegal alien from Mexico gets to pay the in-state rate of $8,034 — in effect a $10,000 subsidy paid by Massachusetts taxpayers.

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Massachusetts seeks to join Illinois, Texas, California, New York and others in providing at taxpayer expense a benefit to illegal aliens that is denied to U.S. citizens from the other 49 states.

It is thumbing its nose at federal law, specifically Title 8, Chapter 14, Section 1623, which states that “an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State . . . for any post-secondary education benefit unless a citizen or national is eligible for such a benefit.” In other words, unless Massachusetts gives an educational benefit to a citizen from Iowa, it can’t give one to an illegal alien from Mexico.

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The message this action sends is that U.S. citizenship has no value since if you can break our laws and evade capture you will be rewarded with all the benefits anyway. Crime pays.