Right Side News received this article from the Federation for American Immigration Reform and would like our readers to view the follow video that is related and illustrates the urgent need for reform now.
Recently, the FAIR Government Relations team has been working closely with Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) and his staff to put forth commonsense solutions to immigration-related issues. Specifically, FAIR has strongly endorsed two bills, both sponsored by Rep. Tiahrt, that would help enforce the federal restriction on in-state tuition for illegal aliens and reinstate effective citizenship verification under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
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On Wednesday, January 27, Rep. Tiahrt - along with Congressmen Rodney Alexander (R-LA), Brian Bilbray (R-CA), and Duncan Hunter (R-CA) - introduced H.R. 4548, the "Fairness for American Students Act." H.R. 4548 would amend current federal law to clarify that illegal aliens attending a postsecondary educational institution are ineligible for in-state tuition unless the institution offers those rates to all American citizens.
The Fairness for American Students Act would help American students challenge the granting of in-state tuition to illegal aliens by creating a civil cause of action for citizens who suffer financially by not receiving in-state tuition from a college or university that simultaneously grants such benefits to illegal aliens. Finally, H.R. 4548 would bar any college or university that provides in-state tuition to illegal aliens from receiving any Federal funding. FAIR President Dan Stein has noted that these provisions are "consistent with the belief held by millions of Americans that our government should not subsidize and reward illegal immigration." Since the bill's introduction, five more Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors, including Reps. Dan Burton (R-IN); Walter Jones (R-NC); Kenny Marchant (R-TX); Gary Miller (R-CA); Christopher Lee (R-NJ); and Buck McKeon (R-CA).
Less than one month after introducing H.R. 4548, Rep. Tiahrt introduced another strong piece of legislation - H.R. 4708, the "Reinstatement of Personal Responsibility for Immigrants Act." H.R. 4708 would reverse several troubling changes that were made to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) when President Obama signed the SCHIP Reauthorization bill into law in February 2009. Specifically, the Reinstatement of Personal Responsibility for Immigrants Act would require applicants for taxpayer-subsidized benefits under SCHIP to be verified through a well-established verification system that requires applicants to present documentation to establish both their identity and citizenship.
In addition, the legislation would reinstate the five-year waiting period before legal immigrants could access benefits under SCHIP. Finally, the bill would require that legal immigrants who apply for SCHIP have their eligibility verified through the proven Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system. In a letter of support for H.R. 4708, FAIR President Dan Stein argued that the bill would "not only help prevent illegal aliens from unlawfully accessing taxpayer-funded benefits, [but would also] enforce a long-standing policy that legal aliens should not be admitted to the United States unless they are able - with the support of their sponsors - to be self-sufficient." Reps. Bilbray and Jones have already signed on as co-sponsors of H.R. 4548, as well as Reps. Sue Myrick (R-NC); Dean Heller (R-NV); and Doug Lamborn (R-CO).
