Institutionalized Xenophobia?

This is in response to Jacob Stewart’s opinion column, “Undocumented successes.” The history of the United States is filled with stories of hardworking visionaries striving to create a new life, and I agree that we must continue to provide this road to opportunity and freedom, especially in education. Providing people from across the world the opportunity to legally become American citizens is a fundamental principle of our great country. And (it is obvious) that citizenship is a privilege, as are the rights and entitlements thereof.\nIU attracts thousands of international students who have gone through the correct channels in order to study and contribute to this institution. How can we even suppose that because lawmakers believe the privileges of attending a higher-education state school and receiving financial aid belong solely to tax-paying citizens is going to lead to “institutionalized xenophobia?” Further, do we actually believe we would ever see this term come to fruition at a school like Indiana, that boasts students from over 120 countries and, as Herman B Wells said, “ ... encompasses the four corners of the globe?” As Stewart points out, illegal immigrants evade the taxes that the rest of us are paying, some of which are apportioned to IU and other state schools. In elementary and secondary public schools alone, $14.6 billion has been paid for the education of illegal immigrant children in the past 10 years.\nSerious policy, such as Kilgore’s, that allows for legally attained advancement of immigrants as American citizens will create a better country for generations to come. America must remain the land of opportunity for immigrants, as so many have improved our country through hard work and innovation, and I will support policy that actively encourages legal entry and protects the rights of all Americans. I believe it is in the interest of not only our state but also our nation to have reasonable immigration policy.