It’s an “Americans last” bill but is pushed by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, so it can pass if you let it. Stacey Abrams wants it too.

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HB131 (LC 49 1187) would create a new tuition rate for Georgia’s public colleges and Technical Schools. The bill’s sponsor, Rep Kasey Carpenter is calling it “Opportunity Tuition” and it is intended for illegal aliens – who are DACA recipients who would be known as “Opportunity Students.” DACA recipients are still illegal aliens.

• Passage of HB 131 as is would allow illegal aliens to attend Georgia’s public colleges and Tech Schools at a much lower rate that U.S. citizens and legal immigrants who live in other states.

I took some time top gather figures on tuition using information from KSU.

From the Kennesaw State University website:

“Full Time Course Load – For undergraduate students, twelve (12) semester hours is a full-time load in determining such things as veteran status, financial aid, and insurance eligibility. However, the usual load for a full-time undergraduate student is at least 15 semester credit hours in both fall and spring semesters.”

KSU 2022-2023

Fall 2022, Spring 2023 and Summer 2023

Undergraduate students per semester – costs for tuition and fees

Instate tuition rate: cost of full time course load (12 credit hours)  – $2892.80

Out of state rate: cost of full-time course load (12 credit hours) –    $8519.96

 Difference in cost to students (per semester) between instate & out of state rate: $5627.16

 Difference in a typical 15 hour course load (per semester): $ 7034.00

 Total difference in instate and out of state tuition rates if a student attends KSU for Spring, Summer and Fall semesters with 15 hours: $21,102.00

Here.

 According to proposed changes in state law set out in HB131, (LC 49 1187) a new “Opportunity Tuition” (see lines 98 & 99) rate would allow some illegal aliens (“Opportunity Students”) in Georgia to pay no less than 1% and no more than 10 % of the instate rate.

Example (at 1%): An illegal alien in Georgia could pay $10,706.00 for a year at KSU (15 hour course load) while an American citizen and/or a legal immigrant from another state pays $31,449.00 for the same education over one year.

An annual difference of $20, 743.00.

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HB 131 sponsors (as per House clerk’s office at 9:15 AM Feb 2, 2023 Re:”Taj”) * Updated Feb 10, after a trip to the Clerk’s office

Rep Kasey Carpenter – Dalton, Republican

Rep Dale Washburn – Macon, Republican

Rep Bill Werkheiser – Glennville, Republican

Rep Penny Houston – Nashville, Republican

Rep Long Tran – Dunwoody, Democrat

Rep Solomon Adesanya – Marietta, Democrat

Rep Kim Schofield – Atlanta, Democrat

Rep Farooq Mughal – Dacula, Democrat

Rep Pedro Marin – Duluth, Democrat

*Rep Stacey Evans – Atlanta, Democrat

*Rep Sandra Scott – Rex, Democrat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“It is testament to the tenacity, funding and power of the school choice advocates that including illegals in a proposed new state benefit program is even being discussed.”

A battle is coming between the Georgia Republicans who are pushing “school choice” at any cost and pro-enforcement conservatives who refuse to reward and encourage more illegal immigration into Georgia. Expanding benefits for illegal aliens does exactly that. The lobbying money is on the “include the illegals” side. All too often, the truth isn’t.

Despite what Georgians may be told, the 1982 Plyer V Doe Supreme Court decision only requires states to provide public school tuition to K-12 students regardless of immigration status.

A word of experienced advice to readers who may favor “putting parents in charge of education…” but take the pro-enforcement view of the debate: You can save yourself a lot of attacks as being “anti-school choice” if you make clear your opposition to rewarding illegal immigration early in any discussion on the topic.

We don’t allow illegal aliens to access the Hope Scholarship, the Zell Miller Scholarship, or instate tuition in our taxpayer-funded public colleges. Why do some Republicans want to welcome illegal alien families with discretionary, taxpayer-funded K-12 private school benefits? It is testament to the tenacity, funding and power of the school choice advocates that including illegals in a proposed new state benefit program is even being discussed.

This writer attended a seminar on school choice last fall in Marietta and got the “whole enchilada” presentation and was surprised to see several well-known Georgia Republicans -including former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler – featured as presenters. I still don’t know the answer to the above question. But I can report that the ongoing illegal immigration catastrophe was completely avoided in the program and there was no Q&A session. I did hear it said that “we are all Americans.”

• Related: School choice legislation is likely from Georgia lawmakers this session

We are not aware of any position the new leadership under the Gold Dome has taken on delivering state funds to illegal alien families for use as K-12 tuition payments to private schools. A great deal of time and trouble could be saved if Georgians could get a signal on this from the new Speaker or the new Lt. Governor – or Gov. Kemp.

Influential national radio show host Erick Erickson predicted a win for commonsense: “I’m fairly certain the Republicans aren’t going to fund illegal aliens going to private school…” was part of the response from Erickson last year to an on-air alert from this writer about the absence of language to exclude illegals in then-pending state legislation.

Soon after that public forecast from Erickson, there were various versions of poorly written and unworkable language purporting to exclude illegal aliens from the proposed “school choice” legislation offered in three separate bills in 2021-2022 General Assembly. So, it’s clear that most members of both chambers are aware of the concern.

Readers who have not heard one of the school choice sales programs for what is also known as “educational freedom” and “fund students, not systems” may want to consider attending an Americans for Prosperity event on the matter this evening in Alpharetta. It looks like presenters will include lobbyist and former GOP state Rep Buzz Brockway and Forsyth County school board member Mike Valdes.

If you go: I’ll wash your car if you let us know if there is any mention of illegal immigration or that according to the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, there are only six states with a higher illegal population than Georgia.

One online advertisement for the AFP event includes a reminder of a January proclamation of “School Choice Week” (Jan 22-28) from Gov. Kemp. The proclamation does not say if the governor would sign a bill that provides state funds for future “undocumented workers” to pay K-12 private school tuition.

Neither does it say if a law that excluded illegal aliens from any state-funded school choice benefit would be enforced. Many state laws aimed at illegal immigration aren’t.

• A version of this essay ran posted on the subscription website Insider Advantage, January 24, 2023.

D.A. King is proprietor of ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com and president of the Dustin Inman Society.

 

 

WE OPERATE ON DONATIONS.

Dear friends,

In September 2003 I set aside my own business and began fighting illegal immigration in Georgia full time. In the years since then we have worked long and hard to draft and pass legislation in our state that would make our state a very difficult place for illegal immigration – if the laws we helped put in place were enforced. Most of them aren’t.

Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than Arizona and more illegals than green card holders.

The “criminal illegals” that Gov. Kemp promised to go after in 2018 are still killing, raping and molesting innocent Georgians. Including our children. A law that requires all jailers in the state to check the immigration status of foreign born inmates is publicly ignored – and the corrupt media remains silent.

We now have sanctuary counties.

E-Verify laws in Georgia are treated as optional in many places.

The push is on by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and other special interest groups to allow illegal aliens to pay instate tuition in our taxpayer funded colleges while Americans and legal immigrants pay the much higher out-of-state rates.

“I voted” stickers are now given out in multiple foreign languages. Our drivers license test is offered in twelve languages. Illegal aliens work as staff members and lobbyists under the Gold Dome.

Believe it or not, many Establishment Republicans – including some state legislators – are planning another attempt to put illegal alien students in K-12 private school with American taxpayers sponsoring the tuition. This bizarre lunacy would serve to increase the already strong magnet that pulls illegal immigration into Georgia – which is part of the plan.

In 2005, 2007 and 2013 we proudly led the successful state fight against amnesty in Washington, We will always take up that battle. Imagine the state of Georgia today if hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens in the state had been granted U.S. citizenship and the right to vote in the last two elections.

We have two very effective websites on which we put information and issues. I plead with you to make use of them (see below).

I want to continue the resistance in Georgia but long ago ran out of personal funds and am in heavy debt as a result of our work. Donations to our cause have almost completely stopped.

It is humiliating to ask for financial help but that pain is not as bad as standing by and doing nothing while Georgia speeds further down the path to becoming more and more like California. I cannot go on without assistance.

I write today to humbly ask for your help in funding the 2023 pro-enforcement fight in Georgia IF YOU ARE ABLE TO DONATE.

We are the only group in Georgia fighting illegal immigration. The illegal alien lobby is well-funded by corporate Georgia – including by the Coca Cola Co. and Georgia Power.

Please consider helping us.

If you are able, please click here to donate.

Thank you,

D.A. King

 

Center for Immigration Studies

Schumer Calls for DREAM Amnesty

DREAMers’ are just the bait; “citizenship for all 11 million, or however many” illegal aliens there are here is the hoo