Last in the Nation

Sunday's editorial calls on South Carolina to follow North Carolina's lead - and every other state in the nation's - and allow immigrants to attend college, regardless of citizenship status.

Despite the usual protests, the N.C. Community Colleges board last week voted boldly and overwhelmingly to restore their "open-door" policy that controversially allowed some illegal immigrants to attend classes.

Creating a coherent immigration policy that appropriately balances security and opportunity is among the most difficult political challenges facing the United States. Thus far, our country has left the hard questions unanswered. How many people should be allowed to move to the country each year? What is an appropriate level of security along our long borders? What should be done with the 11 million or so people living in the U.S. already without citizenship?

Higher education poses its own questions. Many states grapple over whether to charge illegal-immigrant college students in-state tuition or out-of-state rates, which are often much higher and calculated to cover the entire cost of educating the student. Some say that education and immigration policy should not be mixed, so students should not be penalized with higher rates based on their citizenship status, while others argue that if students are technically not citizens, they shouldn't enjoy the benefits of the lower rate.

But the simple question of whether to allow these students into college should be easy to decide, as it cannot be rationally argued that illegal immigrants burden state colleges. According to North Carolina's new rules, illegal immigrants may not be admitted if their presence in a class would result in a citizen being turned away. Nor are they eligible for any kind of financial aid.

Nor are there even that many illegal immigrants in college: When North Carolina kicked them out of the college system last year, only 112 students were identified in the entire state. At Brunswick Community College, there were only two, said college President Stephen Greiner (who is now looking forward to welcoming them back next fall).

In fact, after North Carolina's decision last week, only one state now bans them: South Carolina.

The S.C. policy is relatively new, enacted in 2008 as one of many measures that were part of the state's comprehensive immigration overhaul. State Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, was one of the key advocates for the immigration bill, and said the intent of the measure was to make sure illegal immigrants did not overwhelm S.C. colleges.

Viers subsequently visited a class of illegal immigrants at Myrtle Beach High School who, prior to the law, would have been college-bound. Many were brought to the U.S. so young that our country is the only one they've ever known, and Viers said he found their talent and work ethic so inspiring he decided to seek a revision to the immigration law to allow them into college.

"They want the chance that so many of us take for granted," Viers said. "I was moved. These are the types of individuals we want in our society."

The 2009 legislative session passed without any bill, Viers said, because the calendar got crammed with budget and stimulus issues in a shortened session. He said he still supports a change to the law "in theory," though he'd discuss it first with the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a group of ardent illegal-immigration foes. If he were to author a bill allowing illegal immigrants into state colleges, he'd use the N.C. requirements - that they be graduates of American high schools, that they pay out-of-state tuition and that they not displace any American students - and add a requirement that they be fluent in English. Finally, he said, he'd want to draw a firm line against any other "exceptions" illegal immigrants might seek.

Here's hoping Viers follows through and files a bill in 2010, correcting an injustice he helped author and that only South Carolina sees fit to practice. No one benefits by keeping these hardworking students out of college, and no one loses anything by allowing them to better themselves.

Creating a coherent immigration policy that appropriately balances security and opportunity is among the most difficult political challenges facing the United States. Thus far, our country has left the hard questions unanswered. How many people should be allowed to move to the country each year? What is an appropriate level of security along our long borders? What should be done with the 11 million or so people living in the U.S. already without citizenship?

Higher education poses its own questions. Many states grapple over whether to charge illegal-immigrant college students in-state tuition or out-of-state rates, which are often much higher and calculated to cover the entire cost of educating the student. Some say that education and immigration policy should not be mixed, so students should not be penalized with higher rates based on their citizenship status, while others argue that if students are technically not citizens, they shouldn't enjoy the benefits of the lower rate.

But the simple question of whether to allow these students into college should be easy to decide, as it cannot be rationally argued that illegal immigrants burden state colleges. According to North Carolina's new rules, illegal immigrants may not be admitted if their presence in a class would result in a citizen being turned away. Nor are they eligible for any kind of financial aid.

Nor are there even that many illegal immigrants in college: When North Carolina kicked them out of the college system last year, only 112 students were identified in the entire state. At Brunswick Community College, there were only two, said college President Stephen Greiner (who is now looking forward to welcoming them back next fall).

In fact, after North Carolina's decision last week, only one state now bans them: South Carolina.

The S.C. policy is relatively new, enacted in 2008 as one of many measures that were part of the state's comprehensive immigration overhaul. State Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, was one of the key advocates for the immigration bill, and said the intent of the measure was to make sure illegal immigrants did not overwhelm S.C. colleges.

Viers subsequently visited a class of illegal immigrants at Myrtle Beach High School who, prior to the law, would have been college-bound. Many were brought to the U.S. so young that our country is the only one they've ever known, and Viers said he found their talent and work ethic so inspiring he decided to seek a revision to the immigration law to allow them into college.

"They want the chance that so many of us take for granted," Viers said. "I was moved. These are the types of individuals we want in our society."

The 2009 legislative session passed without any bill, Viers said, because the calendar got crammed with budget and stimulus issues in a shortened session. He said he still supports a change to the law "in theory," though he'd discuss it first with the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a group of ardent illegal-immigration foes. If he were to author a bill allowing illegal immigrants into state colleges, he'd use the N.C. requirements - that they be graduates of American high schools, that they pay out-of-state tuition and that they not displace any American students - and add a requirement that they be fluent in English. Finally, he said, he'd want to draw a firm line against any other "exceptions" illegal immigrants might seek.

Here's hoping Viers follows through and files a bill in 2010, correcting an injustice he helped author and that only South Carolina sees fit to practice. No one benefits by keeping these hardworking students out of college, and no one loses anything by allowing them to better themselves.