by Teri Ong
[I wrote the following as an opinion column submitted to the Greeley Tribune in response to an article about an illegal immigrant who was working hard to find a way to get in-state tuition rates at one of our state universities. The gist of the article was how deserving this student was and how unfair it is for our legal system to bar his way to financial breaks for a college education. My response was not published in the Tribune, so I publish it here.}
To recast the teaser on the special report “Unwanted Potential” published in the Greeley Tribune on Sunday, April 19”–
“Hundreds of Greeley teenagers have the brains and desire to learn to become doctors (or engineers, or lawyers, or accountants, or teachers) and help tens of thousands of people. But even though they DO have the citizenship– Colorado won’t help them either.”
Is it because the people of Colorado are cold-hearted or short-sighted and don’t “want” the professional potential of needy students? No, it is because educational resources are always more limited than the demand for such resources. It is not only economically impractical to educate every student who wants an education, it is economically impossible, especially if one looks at the problem globally.
I have spent 25 years helping take care of needy people in downtown Greeley and understand the problem of allocation of resources. I have given away cloth diapers that belonged to my own babies, canned goods out of my own cupboard, even hot food off my own table. But I have not been able to meet all of the needs that have been presented at my doorstep, often because I had to meet needs inside my door first.
Sympathetic citizens of the United States might wish they could educate every needy student around the world, but we must allocate limited resources. Justice and fairness demand that “membership has its privileges.” The Apostle Paul framed the issue this way, “Whoever does not take care of his own is worse than an infidel.” In other words, our first duty is to needy youngsters who have legal citizenship.
I am generally a cheerful giver, but I also understand the resentment of being “taken.” In the last five years my social security number, my daughter’s checking account, and one of my husband’s credit card numbers, along with our time and good names have been stolen by people who thought they needed them more than we did. Senator Mike Kopp is right about the frustration felt by law-abiding citizens who feel illegal immigrants “are getting a free pass on many issues.” Many would-be givers in regards to education are resistant because they feel “taken.”
When Samuel Rutherford penned the classic Lex Rex, or “The Law Is King”, his main point was that the ruler of a nation is not above the law. But in our American democracy, the application is that no one should be above the law. It is indefensible that some of our legislators want to give special protected status to people who practically have placed themselves above the law, frequently in multiple times and ways.
Does that mean that students who don’t have a legal right to state aid are cast off as hopeless cases? Certainly not. There are many options besides attending public universities at a discounted rate. In Juan’s case, people are educated in Mexico; some even become doctors in Mexico. Students with determination find ways to meet their goals under all sorts of what we might call adverse circumstances. Often times it is the adverse circumstances that build the greatest character and courage.
As Jakob Rodgers pointed out [in the Tribune article], relatively easy (albeit illegal) passage into a better life in America has caused a severe drain of talent and skill which could have forged a better society in Mexico. Sometimes we are Providentially hindered from following a path that looks attractive so that we will walk a path that leads to even greater good. I hope that Juan will find that greater good and live out his full potential.
