It looks as if the state of Virginia has found a way to bring back the Grandfather clause, but this time to exempt state citizens from their own states public education system. Virginia once again has put its overzealous pursuit of illegal immigrants over the needs of its residents and citizens. The state decided to deny in-state tuition to native-born student citizens based on their parent’s legal status. A recent Washington Post article explored the topic and discovered that residents of Virginia whose parents are illegal immigrants must pay out-of-state tuition or forego college altogether. Defending this position, the Virginia State attorney general’s office insisted that parents’ legal status matters because students are considered to be dependents until they are 24 years old.

This effort is one of many expensive and exclusionary steps taken by Virginia's state legislature to curb illegal immigration -- even though a recent poll showed that 96.8 percent of residents in Prince Williams County, for example, would rather see the state's money spent on public health initiatives and transportation improvements. Efforts to deprive Virginia state residents who are U.S. citizens the right to an education is reprehensible. These students will be forced to take out loans and will be plagued by debt, that is, if they can even get loans considering the fiscal crisis that our country is now in. Many students struggle to pay in state tuition as it is, and immigrants, who are often in the bottom income bracket, will as a result have to pay a disproportionate share of their income. These students are citizens and Virginia residents and they deserve to be treated as such. Regardless of your stance on immigration, denying U.S. citizens the right to an affordable education is irresponsible and certainly doesn’t solve the immigration problem.