Community Colleges: Attorney General Cooper Pulls A Quick One

Raleigh, N.C. – One week after the end of session, Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office has announced that the state community college system is permitted to enroll illegal aliens. The announcement reverses a previous opinion, released one week before the 2008 session convened, which had advised against admitting illegal aliens.

“The timing of the attorney general’s decision is curious,” stated Civitas director of policy Dr. Jameson Taylor. “Before session began the attorney general made it seem that this issue was settled. As a result, legislation that would have prohibited adult illegal aliens from attending community colleges never came up for a vote. But now that the General Assembly has gone home, Attorney General Cooper has reversed himself.”

Sixty-eight percent of N.C. voters oppose allowing illegal aliens to enroll in state community colleges, according to a recent Civitas DecisionMaker poll. This past June, South Carolina joined Virginia as the second state in the Southeast to prohibit illegal aliens from attending public universities and colleges. A similar ban was introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly by Representative George Cleveland, but the bill never came up for a vote.

 “The community college system has flip-flopped on this issue four times over the past seven years,” stated Civitas director of policy Dr. Jameson Taylor. “Instead of letting an unelected official decide this question, it is time for the General Assembly to determine once and for all whether to admit illegal aliens into our public universities and colleges. It’s time for the people of North Carolina to have their say.”

Civitas’ complete polling data on this issue is as follows:

• 76% of N.C. voters support charging out-of-state tuition for illegal immigrants attending community colleges and public universities (February 2008).
• 73% of N.C. voters oppose paying higher taxes for special school programs for non-English speaking students (July 2005).
• 69% of N.C. voters oppose providing education benefits to illegal immigrants (August 2005).
• 68% of N.C. voters oppose allowing illegal immigrants to enroll in community colleges (February 2008).