By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
You may’ve missed this story since it broke in the run-up to a long holiday weekend, Save Jerseyans.
Remember when the N.J. Dream Act was passed by the Democrat legislature and signed into law by Chris Christie? And we were assured that in-state tuition wouldn’t translate to student aid?
Well, that didn’t take long. Illegal immigrant children are permitted to attend K-12 schools and enroll in college. While they’re still not eligible for federal student aid, last Wednesday, New Jersey’s Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) confirmed to CNN money that it would no longer turn away application son the basis of a missing or incorrect Social Security number.
In other words, being a citizen is no longer a requirement for state-facilitated student aid in the Garden State.
“Commencing in this coming academic year 2016-2017 … any student who answers that their parents are New Jersey residents on the FAFSA — even if an invalid Social Security number is provided — will no longer receive an initial denial,” agency spokesperson Marcia Karrow told CNN Money in an e-mail.
I’ve written extensively about why creating a bigger and stronger incentive for illegal immigration isn’t exactly a good thing for anyone, least of all the children who are brought here illegally. That’s one point.
Another: at a time when New Jersey’s state government CANNOT EVEN FIND THE MONEY TO MAINTAIN ROADS without raising taxes in what’s already the most-taxed state in America, is facilitating college loans to non-citizens really the kind of thing a state agency like HESAA should be prioritizing right now?
The money’s already there, folks. Good luck getting Trenton to spend it properly.
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