GOV. BROWN CUTS EDUCATION… BUT NOT FOR ILLEGAL FOREIGN STUDENTS

CAPS calls for veto of "California Dream Act"

Santa Barbara, CA – March 30, 2011 – California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed 13 bills that make $11.2 billion in cuts and shifts in state spending, including slashing $500 million each from the University of California and California State University systems. At the same time, he supports the so-called “California Dream Act” that would provide illegal aliens with student financial aid that costs more than $40 million per year.

"This is as shocking as it is hypocritical. Legal California residents, American citizens, are being asked to make sacrifices. Hard-working students are being asked to make sacrifices. Simultaneously, the governor and legislature propose using some of these scarce financial aid dollars for those whose presence in this country is illegal," said Marilyn DeYoung, Chairman of the Board of the nonpartisan Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS).

"If Brown is truly committed to balancing the budget, he can start by providing financial aid only to legal students, and by telling the legislature that he will veto these bills," stated DeYoung. Gov. Schwarzenegger repeatedly vetoed previous versions of the legislation, but Brown has indicated he would sign AB 130 and 131.

The costs of illegal immigration to California are enormous. The state spends $22 billion annually on illegal aliens—primarily on education, prisons, police, and medical services. The federal government mandates most of these costs, but California, unlike most states, also provides illegal alien students with a subsidized, in-state tuition rate. The tuition discounts cost state taxpayers over $200 million every year.

"California’s infrastructure is crumbling under the pressure of immigration-driven population growth. In this recession, California’s middle-class families are struggling to meet the increasing cost of higher education and should not have to subsidize students who are here illegally. Governor Brown should veto the California Dream Act and ask the legislature to repeal AB 540, which rewarded illegal students with in-state tuition," said DeYoung.