The Right to Opportunity

Where I go to school (New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL), pretty much every student expects (and is expected) to go to college. After every weekend I have different friends come up to me and tell me about cool college visits they went on. But college is not always a reality for kids. For example, kids of undocumented workers often cannot afford college.

A couple of weeks ago, Gov. Chris Christie of Union City, NJ, signed a Dream Act Bill, providing students who are illegally living in the US with a temporary residency which will open up more educational opportunities for them and could eventually lead to the ability to become citizens. I read an article about the bill signing by Christie, which I encourage you all to read (the link to the article can be found here). For more information about the Dream Act, here is a link to the Wikipedia page about it (even though the link is from Wikipedia, it still provides a pretty good summary of what the Act entails).

The author of the article on the Christie signing, Jenna Portnoy, reported that the Governor claimed that even people who are “cold-hearted” about the matter of immigration must admit that there is an economic benefit in extending in-state tuition to students that the government already spends a lot on. This was a bit confusing to me at first, but basically Christie is arguing that because the state of NJ spends so much on each student for their grade school education, why not maximize the investment and let these students pay in–state tuition (which they would get to do once they become temporary American residents). This would allow many more students to go to college, which would in turn actually provide the colleges with more economic support.

More importantly, an educated workforce contributes much more to society. An uneducated workforce, on the other hand, is much more likely to be dependent upon society for support. The Dream Act will lead to a stronger American workforce to help build a better economy in the future.

            But even if there were no economic benefit, shouldn’t these students deserve the right to a good education, just like I do? The 14^th amendment says:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

            To me this passage means that a person raised in the US should have the privileges of an American citizen, and that the government doesn’t have the right to deny any of these inherent privileges. Not only is there an economic benefit to extending benefits to these children of undocumented immigrants, but it is also most consistent with historical moral American values.

These kids are in so many ways like me; they consider themselves Americans and culturally belong much more to our nation than that of their parents. It is a technicality that keeps them from enjoying the full benefits of enjoying American citizenship.