Nine states have passed laws allowing illegal immigrants to attend colleges and universities for the same cost as a legal in-state resident.  Are American students being unfairly biased by this arguably "illegal" competition for a coveted slot in class?

California, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Washington currently offer illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates.  American citizens that attend school outside of the state of their primary residence are, in many cases, required to pay almost twice as much tuition as illegal immigrants.

Under U.S. law, illegal immigrants may not hold any job in the United States.  That raises the question as to why we would offer educational advantages to the very people we prohibit from having a legitimate job in our country.  Students without legal immigrant status continue to be ineligible for federal financial aid, although states are required to provide K-12 public education as a result of a 1982 Supreme Court decision.

The Wall Street Journal raised the possibility that the whole in-state tuition benefit for illegal aliens issue has been nothing more than a vote buying ploy for politicians appealing to hispanic illegals:

"Promoters expect few students to actually take up the benefit. Dropout rates are high and academic scores generally are low among Hispanics, who account for the majority of illegal aliens. "

 In-state tuition for illegal aliens is a violation of Federal Law.  Federal Law Title 8, Chapter 14, Sec. 1623 states:

"an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State... for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit."

In-state tuition for illegals is in fact a form of amnesty masquerading as an incentive for education.

Colorado pro-life activists recently made significant progress in challenging the validity of the 1973 U.S Supreme Court rulling of Roe v. Wade.  The Colorado Supreme Court voted unanimously to allow a group called Colorado for Equal Rights to conduct a petition drive for a ballot initiative to establish personhood for the unborn.

The right to life is a fundamental principle of the U.S Constitution.   Minnesota's constitution likewise states, "Government is instituted for the security, benefit and protection of the people..." (Minnesota Constitution Article I).  Most Minnesotans support the idea of banning public funding for abortion, if not outlawing the procedure entirely.

Although Minnesota is not an initiative and referendum state, this victory in Colorado is clearly a harbinger of a new wave of optimism for the defenders of the unborn in Minnesota.   We will keep a close eye on the progress of this initiative in Colorado and inform you of additional developments as they occur.