The border influx we have seen under the Biden-Harris Administration has not just cause pain in terms of crime and drug smuggling. It has also created this bizarre bubble, where our government and people seem to care more about making sure that illegal immigrants have whatever they want, instead of helping actual American citizen's. It is happening not just here too, but in England, France, you name it. They are getting preferential treatment for breaking the law.
Texas though took that to a different level, and it began all the way back in 2001. That is when the state made it possible for illegal aliens to receive in-state tuition when going to our colleges or universities. For 23 years, people who are not actual citizens of this state have benefitted from a law that incentivizes being here illegally. But there is new life in the Texas Legislature to make that a thing of the past.
State Representative Terri Wilson this week filed a bill for the next session, which would eliminate that perk for illegal immigrants, and force them to pay out-of-state tuition, which would make logical sense.
Wilson, who has filed this bill before only for it to be shot down, says this push is all about equality in education.
"Everyone is hurting in this economy...but to carve out illegals and give them a discount on in-state tuition, is just not fair," she says.
Now, Wilson has tried this before, filing similar legislation back in 2023. That bill never made it out of committee. But things were different then. You had a bitter bunch of people focusing on impeaching Attorney General Ken Paxton above actually taking care of state needs.
This time, things are a little different. All those members who went against Paxton, and Governor Greg Abbott's school choice plan, have mostly been voted out by people. There is a new wave of true Conservative lawmakers in Austin.
"Based on this last election too...it is pretty much a mandate...we do not need magnets drawing people here and giving them benefits...when we have American citizen's hurting," she says.
As of the writing of this article, there are over 59,000 illegal aliens enrolled at colleges or universities across Texas. All of whom are paying less than they should, because of this weird bubble of sympathy we have coddled.
But it goes beyond being inherently unfair on an education scale. It directly hits American wallets in the long run.
"Charging full tuition for everyone and not having these carve outs...when you do that, everyone pays less," she says.
Paying less for already outrageous tuition is something every parent could support. But still too many people want to virtue signal and try to make illegal immigration okay. It is not.
"There are many American citizens that cannot afford college themselves but might if they got a discount on in-state tuition," says Rep. Wilson. "It is not fair to deprive them of that same privilege."
Bill filing began November 12 and closes March 15th. Many Republicans have already voiced support for the bill.