An anti-illegal immigration law that allows law enforcement to arbitrarily demand proof of legal residency from anyone may be coming to a legislature near you.
Arizona’s SB 1070 — a law passed last month — allows Arizona police to stop, question and detain individuals they suspect may be undocumented immigrants. But because there is no exact science for figuring out what an undocumented immigrant looks like, this law opens the floodgates for waves of unchecked racial profiling. To some, it’s an outrageous law that overburdens police, legalizes and encourages discrimination and resembles a Gestapo-like police state. To others — including one Republican legislator in this state — it’s a necessary step toward ensuring national security.
Del. Pat McDonough (R-Baltimore and Harford) has vowed to introduce a bill identical to Arizona’s new law to the General Assembly next year. He has promised to survey every legislative and gubernatorial candidate on the issue and said he will post their answers on his website before election day.
If McDonough does introduce such a bill, state lawmakers should go beyond simply defeating it — they should instead move toward taking the Free State in exactly the opposite direction. Lawmakers should unite to finally pass a law that would give children of undocumented immigrants, the victims of such hyper-nativism, a chance to finally break free from the shackles of their legal and economic status.
Many of the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants the U.S. Homeland Security Department estimates are living in the United States were brought here as children, without any knowledge of border laws nor any choice in their migration. These same children have since been branded by many in the country where they grew up as “illegal aliens.” They have been denied access to countless public services, are essentially shut out of higher education and relegated to taking unskilled labor jobs and likely living in poverty for the rest of their lives.
Legislators in this state have tried year after year to provide in-state tuition rates for undocumented students who came to this country at a young age and have lived in and gone to high school in the state. And although all students are guaranteed a primary and secondary education by a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision, efforts to help immigrant children earn a college degree have been systematically defeated. It’s time Maryland finally joins the 10 other states, including Texas, that provide college access to the children of undocumented immigrants.
And we can’t stop there. A study published last week by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that even with discounted tuition, many immigrant families are still unable to afford enrollment, primarily because they are exempt from federal financial aid due to their immigration status. And the DREAM Act, which would provide a path to citizenship and restore the state’s ability to determine residency status for the purpose of higher education benefits, has been stalled in Congress. Until true immigration reform is accomplished on the national level, the state should work to help all students achieve the education necessary for success in this country.
By opening the door to education, the state would begin to curtail the vicious cycle of poverty while also helping students become valued members of society, armed with knowledge that would allow them to give back to the country in which they were raised.
These students haven’t knowingly or willingly committed any crime, and they shouldn’t be punished for the actions of their parents. Officials on both the federal and state levels must act now to ensure all students can achieve success and to guarantee Maryland truly is the Free State.