(Tea Party – Joe Gilbert) – Sergeant Hayleigh Perez deployed to Iraq in January 2007 and returned back to Fort Bragg, North Carolina after a 15 month tour. She was honorably discharged in 2009, although her husband is still on active duty.
Following her discharge, she decided to use her GI Bill benefits as a veteran to go to school. Perez enrolled in University of North Carolina, Pembroke. The university then told her that she did not qualify for in-state tuition rates.
The Post 9/11 GI Bill only covers in-state tuition and the difference has to be made up out-of-pocket by the veteran. In-state tuition ranges from $1,500 to $3,700 while out-of-state students pay $10,000 to $20,000.
One of the criteria that UNC uses to determine residency status is income tax filings. Because Perez had been a stay at home mom, she didn’t have any recent NC income tax returns. She and her husband owned a house near Fayetteville and had been paying property tax, even when he was stationed with the Army inTexas. But because she was originally from Iowa and paid her state income taxes there during her military service, North Carolina won’t recognize her as a resident.
Sergeant Perez and her husband have been living in North Carolina for the last seven years, are registered to vote and own a home there. That wasn’t enough. The university said in a statement that the law, North Carolina G.S. 116-143.1, “mandates specific criteria for determining whether a person may be considered a resident for tuition purposes.”
“The actual determination of residency is a complex legal matter,” the university said. “It is the student’s responsibility to provide the documentation necessary to support his or her claims for in-state residency for tuition purposes by the applicable deadlines. Supporting documents should show evidence of the student’s physical presence in North Carolina for the requisite amount of time and creation of his or her domicile in North Carolina” (http://abcn.ws/U83Xl3).
Perez was given the opportunity to appeal the decision to the State Residency Committee. The committee upheld the university’s decision that she was a non-resident.
“I’m an American and I served our great country,” she said. “My husband continues to serve and I don’t have a state of residency if North Carolina is not considering me a resident” (http://abcn.ws/U83Xl3).
Hers is not an isolated case. So far the Student Advocacy Group, that assists veterans has helped 32 veterans appeal their residency status with the University of North Carolina.
However, there had been a movement in North Carolina to automatically grant in-state tuition status to illegals.
In North Carolina, an estimated 1,500 illegal immigrants graduate each year from public high schools. But they cannot receive in-state tuition at public universities. But there has been a movement from within the state’s university system to change that.
In 2007, UNC President Erskine Bowles said that illegal immigrants already are in the state and that creating another permanent underclass is not the right thing to do.
Also, Chancellor James Moeser supports their success, saying, “it’s in the interest of the state to educate all of the people who live here to their highest potential.”
“They are honor students. In some cases, they are valedictorian(s) of our high schools,” Moeser said. “Are we going to deprive this intellectual talent?” (http://bit.ly/RhpqUS).
Currently, thirteen states do offer illegal students in-state tuition rates.
The move to grant illegals in-state residency status has been blocked by the state’s Republicans and now seems dead. In response to SGT Perez’s claims, UNC Pembroke Chancellor, Dr. Kyle Carter issued a statement today saying “On the issue of illegal immigrants: The University of North Carolina (UNC) is not considering giving illegal immigrants in-state tuition benefits. UNCP complies with all applicable laws and does not treat undocumented students as residents for tuition purposes. No change to that policy is being considered” (http://bit.ly/SeItAD).
North Carolina is home to a number of military bases including the Marine Corps’ Camp Lajeune, Pope Air Force Base and the U.S. Army’s Fort Bragg, home of the 82nd Airborne Division and US Army Special Operations Command. Thousands of Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Airmen have deployed to combat from these bases while leaving their families behind. North Carolina has suffered 177 heroes killed in action since the start of the wars in Afghanistanand Iraq(http://wapo.st/tNtZEW).
It is little comfort that after their sacrifices; at least our servicemen and women have the same status as illegal aliens in the University of North Carolina and America.
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Get to know the writer: Major Joseph Gilbert – Retired – 2 Bronze Stars, 4 Meritorious Service Metals, 4 Army Commendation Medals, and Joint Service Commendation Medals 24 years of service.
Commanded 2 military intelligence companies in the 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion. Deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom Technical Intelligence Reconnaissance Company in the search, recovery and repatriation of possible WMDs.
Conducted daily joint missions with the DIA, CIA, FBI, the Iraq Survey Group, US Army Intelligence and Security Command, the NGIC, US Military units, British and Australian intelligence and US Special Operations units throughout Iraq.
Chief of Intelligence Operations, Division Effects for Multi-National Division, Baghdad. Coordinated operations between the US Army, US Department of State, the Government of Iraq and the Iraqi Army; Created new intelligence organization involving British intelligence, US civilian government contracted cultural advisors and Iraqi intelligence.
Sole US Army division representative to the Iraqi National Joint Operations Center (NJOC) coordinating, planning and conducting operations with the US Army, Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army units across the Baghdad area of operations. Produced and briefed updates and planning briefings to the Combatant Commander and his staff, and to the Iraqi General Staff and government ministers.
Battalion Executive Officer and Camp Manager, Camp Ramadi, Iraq. Operations officer for a US Army crisis and emergency response team assigned to US Fifth Army. coordinated daily operations with local, state and Federal agencies.
OBTW — he drinks TEA! Volunteer member of the ‘Tea Party Research Team’ at www.TeaParty.org
