Aid For Illegal Immigrants Special Interests Or The Best...

Financial Aid for Illegal Immigrants: Special Interests or the Best Interests of Society? The mention of immigration in large groups can immediately engender heated debate as people, informed by their personal experience, pose simplistic solutions to the problem or mourn their absence in this highly complicated situation. To some degree, immigration creates two camps: those who believe immigrants should be embraced and those who perceive immigrants legal or otherwise, as a threat to society. While it may be easy for some to declare immigration a black and white issue, that illegal immigrants and their progeny should not be here, this ignores children born in the United States to illegal parents who have never known life in another†¦show more content†¦Instead many fall victim to opportunists who pay and treat employees poorly because reporting any illegal or unethical behavior places the worker’s residency in jeopardy. In many cases, the jobs available to undocumented workers result in families living in poverty for whom a college education is unattai nable. For â€Å"regular† students facing this situation there are government funds available because society recognizes that endemic poverty is unacceptable and that an educated workforce ultimately reduces poverty and the numbers needing public assistance. Another hurdle facing many citizen children of undocumented parents are states that attempt to prevent these children from attending college on â€Å"in-state† tuition because of their parent’s status. Undocumented children who are able to receive public assistance to continue their education may be those best capable of finding a viable, positive solution to the issue of illegal immigration in general. Given the rights and services already afforded this group (as children they are protected even if their parents are not) extending those services to college also seems the only logical step in the immigration quagmire. Penalizing legal citizens regardless of their parent’s status flies in the face of the Constitution. Literature Review In 2005 there were approximately 360,000 high school graduates between the ages 18-24 and 715,000 between 5-17, all of whom are undocumented youths