RALEIGH -- Wake County commissioners deadlocked along party lines Monday on a resolution opposing the admission of illegal immigrants to community colleges.
The resolution objected to the State Board of Community Colleges' decision, in September, to allow illegal immigrants into degree programs at out-of-state tuition rates. It died after getting three of six votes needed.
Commissioner Paul Coble pushed the resolution, which would have been an entirely symbolic act. The board provides some funding to Wake Tech but has no authority over community college admissions.
Coble said the community college decision condones illegal immigration and misuses taxpayer resources. He said the colleges should focus their resources on serving legal residents.
"It makes no sense to me that we would actually train and educate people who cannot take the jobs that they would be trained for," Coble said.
Fellow Republicans Joe Bryan and Tony Gurley voted with him. But Democrats Betty Lou Ward, Lindy Brown and Stan Norwalk opposed the resolution. Board Chairman Harold Webb, a Democrat, is recovering from a stroke and was not present.
"I am embarrassed that this would come before the board," said Norwalk, who called the resolution an insult to Latinos.
Norwalk said that admitting illegal immigrants would have no effect on the community colleges' ability to serve legal residents.
The State Board of Community Colleges decided to admit illegal immigrants at all of the state's 58 campuses after months of controversy and public outcry. The board sought legal opinions, commissioned a study and debated the issue at length before finally deciding to allow them in, saying the decision would provide an opportunity for the most motivated students.
System officials have said that out-of-state tuition more than covers the cost of instruction, and legal residents will get priority when class seats are limited.
The new rule is now wending its way through a state administrative process and likely will take effect next academic year.
Ward said that many illegal immigrant students came here as children and are now doing their best to succeed.
"They may have come here as infants and lived here all their lives," she said. "Why would you not want to help these individuals get an education?"
Tony Asion, head of the statewide Latino advocacy group El Pueblo, said after the meeting Monday that Coble was trying to capitalize on anti-immigrant sentiment.
"It's a political thing," Asion said. "He wants to be able to say, at some point down the line, 'Vote for me. Look what I did.'"
