Sins of the fathers

I recommend you read this article: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/jun/02/im_floridian_i_grew_here/

The story is about a girl who graduated from a local high school with a 4.3 GPA, but who does not qualify for in-state tuition of financial aid because of her illegal status.

Here's my take. You don't have to agree.

1. She was 7 or 8 when her parents brought her here illegally. So yes, she's more Floridian than Mexican. I'd wager she's not very Mexican at all. Imagine if your parents had brought you here from another country at that age. How much identity would you have with your native country?

2. This girl is everything anti-immigrants are for: she's totally assimilated, identifying with her new country rather than her own. She speaks English as well as any of us. She's a talented, hardworking student who wants to go to college. She wants desperately to live her life legally. She aspires to a respectable middle class career.

If you're interested in solving the problems of non-assimilation, poor performance in school, crime, and economic unproductivity that plague immigrant Hispanics in this country, wouldn't you want people like her to set a great example for her peers?

Even rednecks should support this girl.

3. As for the sins of her fathers.... There are some pretty hateful comments posted on the Naples Daily News website from its readers. One thread that pervades these comments is, "Why doesn't she ask her parents why they came over here and put her in this position in the first place?" Why do some Americans think the parents came here from another country? Perhaps crushing poverty, no opportunity, political and governmental corruption, and questionable human rights might explain that decision. Would you try to improve your family's lot and seek the Land of the Free if you lived in such conditions? I know we would.

4. As for student aid... As I stated previously, I'm all for Florida granting her in-state status - again, to reward her hard work and to set an example that her peers can emulate, helping to keep crime and other immigration problems at bay. But financial aid is another matter. I'm all for her getting it, and I'm also all for middle-class students getting it, too.

Right now, the odds are stacked solidly against the middle class when it comes to financial aid. I know this first hand: Twenty years ago, I often did not qualify for financial aid, or qualified for much less than I needed, because my parents weren't dirt poor. How about "making ends meet?" How about "Middle class, and not awash in the kind of money that college requires?"

Our financial aid system is atrocious in this country. Yes, this girl needs help paying her way in school. But so do millions of families. Let's fix the system, and make college affordable to all kids who work hard enough to get in. Why is that even a problem in 2007?