Seriously? What part of "Illegal Immigrants" don't people understand??
This is an amazing country to live in, which is why people flock here. But if you want to live here and benefit from all of the amazing opportunities that Americans have, then you, too, MUST become an American.
I do not consider myself prejudiced in any way. I am not saying "get the heck out of my country." What I AM saying is.... it is a matter of FAIRNESS.
It is not FAIR to Americans that people can come here illegally, live here illegally and have the same benefits and opportunities that Americans have. I understand WHY you want to be here, but you have to go about it LEGALLY! We technically PAY to live here. It's like rent. Illegal immigrants are essentially living rent-free. So they are not residents, they are squatters. And that is illegal.
If I break a law, I must pay the consequences. If someone comes here illegally and lives here illegally.... they are breaking the law. Their children should not be allowed to register for school because they LEGALLY are not citizens. I'm not saying they do not deserve an education.... I'm saying BECOME LEGAL!
If I choose, someday, to go live in England.... I can't just go there and say, "Here I am, Prince Charles, I'd like to attend Oxford, do you mind footing the bill? Thanks."
Because if I'm missing something and that it actually LEGAL to do... then sign me up!

The fact that 18 people voted yes in this poll is fairly disturbing.

No...they should get student loans from their country of origin. It's the Supreme Court that allowed illegal immigrant children free access to US public schools. We've already given over $150,000 to each child--now we have to give more. I say if you came here illegally, you lose the right to become a citizen unless you go back and come here legally.

These students were children who have been raised here and have assimilated the American culture. Are the children to blame for being here illegally?

These students speak English, attended school and graduated from High School, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance every day at school. Are the children to blame for being here illegally?

There are no laws nor legal recourse to address the immigration status of a young adult brought to the U.S. as a child. I'm certain that a minor cannot apply for a green card; heck, a minor cannot apply for anything without an adult's signature.

Sorry but I cannot blame a kid for being illegal, I blame the parents. The kids had no choice, no say in coming here, so what did the children do wrong? I'll tell you, children did nothing wrong, and that is why they are entitled to benefits if they meet the conditions.

No, they don't pay school taxes, they don't pay medical insurance, they don't pay into social security or any other programs . They take all these services for free off our backs. They are bankrupting this country.
THEY ARE STEALING OUR KIDS AMERICAN DREAM!!!!!!!

Really, are you serious? Are you aware of the inequity of wealth distribution in this country? Start looking at the cost of war, the cost of corporate welfare with no regulations for banks and corporations. The American dream? We are all immigrants.

The term "illegal" immigrant should say it all!!! I understand the children did not come here on their own illegally however, OH WELL!! They should only not get the instate benefit, not be eligible for scholarships, and or federal and state aid or loans. All of this takes away from what is available to AMERICAN citizens, and legal immigrants! They should also not be admitted unless they have the proper documents also. That also takes space away from our kids. ILLEGAL anyone should not get ANY BENEFITS that this country or state has to offer. Everyone has the right to be here, but do it legally and LEARN TO SPEAK THE LANGUAGE!!!!

Its very difficult to answer this with a simple yes or no. It isnt that simple. Do I agree with giving money to illegal immigrants when citizens of this nation who have paid there dues are starving and out of work and cant afford school programs themselves, No but.... The governments rationale behind giving opportunities to these people are so they can become educated, hopefully obtain legal professions and then start paying into the system, rather then becoming an uneducated crime infested blight on society which in some cases make sense. I think there is more to this topic and am nor educated enough on the facts. Rather than make snide comments on illegals etc. etc. these are children who were brought to this Country and should want to be apart of the culture hear. I think if people truly want to be Americans they should have every opportunities as our forefathers did when they immigrated hear. Assimilate to "Our" culture. The government should make English this countries official language. Unfortunately the nature of politics is driven by obtaining votes. There should be stipulations to this policy. WOuld love to know the facts of what they are.

The problem is people are using democracy and responsibility as guide posts in analyzing the problem instead of analyzing the way unbridled control of the political and structural national processes have left middle class and the poor without power. The shift of wealth and income from middle class to the top 1% is a scandal. Immigrants are convenient scapegoats for what ails this country. This is the kind of thing that happened in Germany, with the collapse of it’s national economic system groups of people became the scapegoat. Of course reasonable people understand the need to have policy and procedures around immigration. Let’s try to do that instead of blaming poor immigrants for the economic woes of this nation and the world and giving absolution to the horrid transglobal gluttons that have no care for anyone but their own profit. Why do we accept the “temporary” Bush tax cuts as permanent? Why do we accept bailouts of banks and corporations with no sense of national obligation to create jobs? They sit on their money to avoid losing one cent of their profit. These systems and those who preserve them are the real traitors. They are unpatriotic.

As far as I am concerned as long as they have the title "Illegal" they should not be allowed education of any sort in this country. Preschool, elementary, middle, or high and college. Become legal and you can benefit from our programs. End of story. Also dont speak english, cant do any of the above till you do.

As I have said many times before the system is flawed. To get citizenship in this country is difficult. The system cannot handle the applicants and needs to be revised. The "right" way is dam near impossible. This doesnt make it right but needs to be revamped. As far as landscapers, day laborers etc... That is what my italian great grandfather did when he came here. Whatever he could do to get work, became skilled in the textile industry, adapted to the culture and eventually opened a successful coat shop in the city all from nothing... My buddy owns a landscaping company, he puts adds on craigslist all the time for work, and guess what, every applicant shows up for a day and realizes its physical labor and they dont show up afterwards.recent generation of individuals joining the work force are lazy. They dont want to work. They are corrupted by the television expecting that when they graduate from college they will make 6 figures and everything will be storybook... Guess what, that doesnt happen to the majority. I am against the hiring of day laborers but our society thinks "We" are too good for field work... The system is flawed... You want to collect your tax money from illegals, create a way of taxing any money that leaves this country. If someone works for cash off the books and tries to send it to his family or country of origin so they can work here for a few years go back home and live like kings off our system, then tax it when it leaves here... simple

We have Americans who cant get the services that the illegals do, taxpaying Americans who fight tooth and nail to get help but its just handed to anyone who speaks Spanish.
Employers who hire illegals should be prosecuted to the full extent. We have lots and lots of people out of work so finding help for them should not be an issue. Washington has to set boundries and stand by them. Anyone who does not know the language should not be able to work or be educated or be financially helped in this country.

My Grandparents were "illegal"when they arrived in New York. They became legal & 2 of my Grandfathers & 1 of my Grandmothers then served These United States of America!!!! Become legal speak the language & thats it. Simple. Nothing comes easy NOTHING.But when you work for it You Get It!!!!Self Entitlement is a BIG problem!!BIG!!

Bottom line is crossing the border to America illegally is like winning Lotto!!!

Well said Tom, that is exactly it!!!

In-state tuition was designed to give local taxpayers a break.
If illegal aliens want the same break, they should first pay Federal AND State taxes for each year they have been in the USA.
Part of the tuition money gets recycled back into the state and federal government through the educational institute.

Read this next part carefully until you understand it.

If there's a deficit our taxes go up. If the schools, federal government, and state aren't getting the money from the illegal aliens, they will (one way or another) get it from us, the "playing by the rules, documented, taxpaying, voting, jury duty serving CITIZENS".

The dream act has a long way to go before it can get my vote.... but that's another rant.

Tom, again, I cannot argue with anything you say, but the population as a whole has no issue taking the work these people provide, but demonize them when discussing giving them something back. I just can't see how you can have it both ways. Virtually every fruit or vegetable you buy is touched by the hands of someone here illegally. Same goes for a majority of meats. I cannot imagine what the building trade would do if someone was able to wave a wand and make people here illegally vanish. Same for food service industry, landscaping businesses, and many more.

I get the fact that their simple presence here is "illegal", but then we should be just as disturbed at taking from these people as we are with giving to them and the fact is that as a society, we are not.

Bottom line is, employers need to be arrested for hiring illegals and not giving jobs to the legal unemployed and our government has to quit handing out services to all the non english speaking illegal citizens who dont contribute anything back and stop turning away the taxpaying people who need assistance. Employers who hire illegals because they work for nothing need to be behind bars. We need to stand firm on who this country really belongs to and who pays the bills and who doesnt.

Citizens, you want your son or daughter to go to college, after you have paid every tax under the sun, filled out Fasfa forms and loan applications until the cows come home hoping to offset what you hopefully have saved to pay tuition. Now on the other hand you work hard, paid no taxes, know how to work the system for free benefits from school lunches to medical treatment and can still send money to the homeland by wire every week. While all the time your family keeps growing at taxpayers expense. Now it's time for college and you want me to give you another break. Stop gaming the system and stop using your children as pawns. Think these are poor people, ask how long before they plan to go back to the home land and live like Kings on what they made here, they certainly don't retire here, wake up and stop believing all the B.S, liberal have spoon fed you!

I am with Vito on this one,... can't have it both ways

Hugo has it right, well said.
I have two kids because I can afford two kids! They want me to pay for my kids and all the illegal Immigrants are kids to, when does it end? I am being taxed up the wazoo!

"wake up and stop believing all the B.S, liberal have spoon fed you!"
How about waking up and basing your opinions on facts. I am not a supporter of anyone doing anything illegal, but this whole tax argument is a lot of BS and just misdirection. If an illegal alien is working for a relatively honest employer, and I say relatively because a fully honest employer wouldn’t hire illegal workers, taxes are being taken out and are being paid by the employer. If they are working for a fully dishonest employer who pays off the books, it is that employer who is to blame and who is really cheating the public. He/She is not only allowing the worker to avoid paying their taxes, but is avoiding paying a nice chunk of taxes him/herself. Off the books means no company share of payroll tax, no workers comp, no MTA tax, no benefits, etc. If the illegal worker did file a tax return, they probably wouldn't make enough in a year to owe much or any federal/state income taxes anyway as many of the low paying jobs they have, especially if they have all those kids some here suggest they all have. The employer, however, would owe and should pay these taxes from dollar one regardless of what the worker paid.

Illegal workers DO pay property taxes if they manage to own a home or they rent to people who should be paying those property taxes. Some landlords may also avoid paying their fare share of property taxes by skirting zoning laws and allowing more people to live in a residence than is legal. School taxes, the biggest chunk of those property taxes, are based on the size and number of residents that can legally inhabit a property. If a landlord allows twice the number of people to live in a residence, and profit from those rents, he/she is cheating the schools by not paying the fair share of taxes.
Illegal workers DO pay sales tax on everything they buy, unless they find shop owners who are willing to forego charging and paying taxes for cash under the table.
The bottom line is that the real villains in the evasion of taxes and those profiting the most from this type of activity are not the undocumented workers.

Hey Vito, every body pays sales tax and
illegals are not home owners, how could they be and circumvent the paper work and documentation a bank and every other government agency local and other wise would be looking for. I agree about unscrupulous employers and alway ask before they set foot on my property. I believe in supporting American workers! and last but not least get over the myth of underpaid, although not earth shattering any day laborer for example gets breakfast, lunch and a minimum of 10 per hour or his duff never gets off the curb. Also have you noticed every swinging one of them has enough to afford a cell phone. Urban myths Vito, urban myths.

Here we are nitpicking about a foolish issue like this like thats why america is in decline! We've become lazy and stupid. Reckless spenders, we dont save anything never did even when we were in boom times. 25% of groceries people buy end up in the garbage. Maybe we can learn something from these illegals. And judging by the attitudes of a lot of these young kids, the money might be better off spent on illegals. Maybe they can pick this country up.

Hugo...many are unofficial partners in homes owned by legal friends or family. I know everyone pays sales tax, but you said those here illegally pay no taxes. My point was that if you compare the taxes paid by documented vs. undocumented workers that are employed in the types of jobs most illegals have there would be little difference.

This is a very complex problem that has no single solution , it's been going on for way to long and is intertwined in the fabric of very level on society. And taxes ? It's just a part of living. And most of "illegals" on Long Island aren't Spanish believe it or not, they are Scotchs,Irish,German the only reason you don't here about this is because they speak English and are white. Next time your in a hotel/resort, restaurant you'll see what I'm talking about especially if it's high end .The only reason I point this out is just to prove we as a society still judge by color of skin and first impressions.Does anyone here have kids that do migrant work , wash floors/dishes at night , landscaping, clean port a potties , construction , laundry, nanny ,work 2 jobs etc. and ride a bike to work in all weather conditions? Oh and get abused and are to afraid to stand up for their rights? I am in no way for illegal immigration , but you have to be a realist also. Remember they are human also and you can't blame someone for wanting what we have for themselves and their children. Put the blame where it belongs , government.

Regarding reply above. People do have the power and control, they just dont want to use it. They are living the lives that the marketers say we should lead. Big house, big mortgage, new car every couple years. Give up Thanksgiving meal early(black friday) to buy stuff you dont need because its on sale. After Holidays, you need a bigger house because the stuff doesnt fit so you throw out all the stuff you bought and didnt use last year. Nothing wrong with this living if you have the money and arent borrowing it. But debt equals slavery. Not all of it. But the one that hits us all between the eyes is consumer purchases of more clothes, shoes, electronics on credit. You didnt pay for last years stuff, and youre buying more. Go to some poor neighborhoods and see the $200 pair of sneakers and the expensive hairdos etc etc etc. But yet some of these people cant afford to pay their rent or buy enough food. My parents were immigrants and did well because they didnt have the idea they were gonna go broke buying stuff they didnt need. They lived good but cautious lives. We make choices every day. Nobody is forcing anybody to buy anything. Regarding the issue of instate tuition, I believe in the merit system. If you have terrific grades, you deserve it, if not you dont. No matter your immigration status.