The University of Texas at Austin recently scrapped what it called the Monarch program, which provided "support for undocumented students, students with temporary status, students from mixed-status families, and U.S. citizen allies," because it likely violated state and federal law.
"We have an illegal immigration crisis in this country at the same time that we have a tuition crisis, where hard-working families struggle to afford college," notes Zachary Marschall, editor-in-chief of Campus Reform and an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Kentucky.
He thinks the university was right to scrap the program and says it would be a mistake to reopen it, as a collaborative called Rooted Collective would have it do. And really, he acknowledges there may be some wiggle room if the school wanted to make it happen.
"The rules that apply to secondary education about giving resources to illegal immigrants do not necessarily apply to higher education," Marschall notes. "I'm sure if the university was determined to do it, they would find a way that's legal, but that doesn't make it right."
He thinks the money should go to hard-working legal citizens who need help paying for college.
"I have taught a lot of low-income students, and I know how hard it is for a lot of them to get into college and stay in college," Marschall shares. "We should not be spending any money on resources for illegal immigrants, for anyone who came into this country illegally."
Marschall says the university began offering Monarch to illegal immigrant students in 2016, which poses the question of how illegals are able to become students to begin with.
