The Globe reports:
"Gov. Deval Patrick said Thursday he's looking into whether he can skirt the Legislature by unilaterally allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at state colleges."Take note: Patrick isn't talking about American-born children of illegal immigrants, but outright illegal immigrants.
While we strongly disagree with the jingoism of Lou Dobbs & Co., and recoil at any talk of mass deportations for otherwise law-abiding illegal aliens, Patrick’s proposal nevertheless strikes us as ridiculous.
We very much prefer realistic plans to manage illegal immigration, like those of Ted Kennedy, George W. Bush and John McCain. This asinine plan, however, which Governor Patrick's staffers are researching, is exactly the kind of thing that encourages the average voter to give xenophobes like Tom Tancredo a second hearing. (Chauvinistic rhetoric also gave Romney a boost in New Hampshire.)
Perhaps Governor Patrick and his lackeys should consider opening a state college in Guadalajara or Tijuana. After all, that makes as much sense -- legal and otherwise -- as bypassing the Legislature to force Massachusetts taxpayers to subsidize a privilege the majority of legal residents have never enjoyed.
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