The headline implied that illegal immigrants cannot access the community college system, an untruth that you don't address until the ninth paragraph, where you acknowledge that undocumented students will still be allowed to enroll in nondegree continuing education programs. The May 13 memo from the N.C. Community College System Office outlines three criteria by which undocumented or illegal aliens can still enroll in NCCCS. However, you failed to note any of this.

Few would argue with the assertion that the ethnic background of the overwhelming majority of students of which we are speaking is Hispanic. Enrollment figures from the N.C. Community College System in 2006 reveal that 84 percent of Hispanic students are enrolled in continuing education classes (which are, by-and-large, tuition-free and charge no differential for out-of-state students) -- not curriculum degree programs, a fact that says much about not only where the true costs lie, but also about the real impact of a NCCCS ban.

More complete reporting would do much to improve our public discussion of an issue that regrettably has generated more heat than light.

Robert Luebke

Civitas Institute, Raleigh

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