From the office of Del. Pat McDonough:
Delegate Pat McDonough has been consulting with two major national legal foundations regarding a lawsuit against the recently passed Maryland in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, the so-called “Dream Act.” Delegate McDonough was one of the leaders in the fight to defeat the “Dream Act” in the General Assembly.
The Baltimore and Harford County lawmaker was the leader in the effort to produce a lawsuit against Montgomery County Community College. The litigation, which has been filed on behalf of taxpayers and is being implemented by Judicial Watch, has a hearing scheduled on May 5th.
Delegate McDonough stated, “Maryland has become a Disneyland for illegal immigrants, providing attraction and free rides and is costing taxpayers billions of dollars. The “In-state Tuition Act” will make things much worse, attracting more illegal immigrants. The politicians, including the Governor and the leaders of the General Assembly are advocates for illegal immigrants, promoting amnesty and sanctuary policies. For those reasons, I must take the peoples’ cause into the judicial system to seek justice.”
Delegate McDonough believes the “Dream Act” violates the Federal Immigration Law and conflicts with the U.S. Constitution.
A lawmaker suing the very entity he was elected to represent? Why is he even representing the electorate if he then chooses to sue the very democratic entity he chose to serve?
@FRANKLY SPEAKING Any citizen can petition a court for redress including an elected official.
@Frankly Speaking, he was elected to represent the people who elected him not the State of Maryland… he’s not suing the people only trying to represent them – unlike most in Annapolis.
I am 100 percent for the lawsuit. Another thing we need to keep in mind is to keep this liberal circle jerker O’Malley from running for president in 2016.
Let me get this straight: you are against children who live in Maryland and graduate from a Maryland high school and whose parents pay Maryland taxes and can go to a Maryland college with in-state tuition?
Hey PTBL:
How do they pay MD taxes? If they are illegal, how do they have jobs in MD, how do they have SS#’s? How do they have drivers licenses- and auto insurance? Where is their medical insurance??? Would you like to volunteer to pay for all of the extras- that honestly- they are NOT paying? EXPLAIN THIS IN DETAIL HOW THIS WORKS: how they can do this? No one ever- EVER talks about the real cost of illegal aliens. And no one seems to be fighting for the native-and legal needy children of Maryland.
These kids and their families are breaking the law of the state and the country- every day. Are we, as citizens, allowed to live in a land of our deciding- or are we going to start letting other countries start making our decisions for us- because that’s the road you are on. Please don’t label yourself as a liberal- because most of the liberals I know are smart enough to think this legislation is bad, harmful and will lead to no good.
@PBTL, so are the immigration laws the only laws you’d like to see ignored? Let’s say I have a part of my yard that I’d like to get more sun on but my neighbor’s tree is blocking… I’ll just cut it down myself since those pesky trespass and destruction of property laws are just so unfair, right? Heck, they aren’t even as significant as being in a country illegally so I’m sure they’ll let me off easy – and what sort of a person wouldn’t want to see me be happy?
Today, the definition of illegal has changed for the better or worse. These children are not going to be shipped back where their parents came from. They are going to stay here and become de facto citizens. They are not taking seats from citizens’ children.
Because states have not supported colleges as they have in the past, college have let legal foreign students fill seats because they pay high tuition rates. There are now 700,000 foreign students in American colleges. There are 130,000 from China and 100,000 from India. Graduate schools are filled with foreign students. This keeps qualified American out of graduate school.
Because of this we now have doctors and nurses who can get greens cards. My last two operations were performed by a male Syrian and a female Korean. Baltimore City and Prince George County Public School Systems all have large numbers of teachers from the Philippians. Look how many Indians own hotels and gas stations.
There are two ways to get more American children into college.
1. Stop letting seniors attend community college free. I know from experience this cost Maryland community colleges millions. Why should a person over the age of 60 attend college let along go free. McDonough has never answered this question?
2.The state needs to have the 5 percent of the people who receive over 50 percent of the income pay more taxes so colleges can be less expensive for children of parents who can only earn enough money most of the time for living expensives.
As a high income person my concern is when the middle class is destroyed by the current tax system there will be no one who can afford my services. Look how many restaurants have gone out of business in the last year. We need more taxes to keep the economy moving. The Bush tax cuts proved this.
Del McDonough is a good example of a person who does not know what he is doing. We need to cut his high salary for three months of work.
FogDog,
You are drinking way too much Obama-O’Malley cool-aid. You are taking words right out of Obama’s speech and using them here. I’m not disagreeing with you that the more you make, the more you should pay (remember the words of O’Malley and Obama – pay your fair share). However how much do you want them to pay? Moreover, will squeezing more from that 5% number you put out, to cover the cost? Regardless, all of us taxpayers are going to pay one way or another.
As far as seniors getting breaks on tuition at community colleges, many seniors contibuted to this country by paying their “fair share” most of their lives. Many served in the military and some fought for this country. Yet, you will deny them a discount or a waiver for tuition to attend a class. The cost for seniors attending classes at community colleges is minimal compared to what it will cost the state for footing the bill for illegal immigrants. Besides that, where are they (illegal) going to work once they earn their degree? It will be illegal for them to work in the US.
Once thing I do agree with and that is cutting the salary and benefits of those in Annapolis (but also Washington D.C.). If only the people in this state (and country) would add up what the salaries, benefits (including retirement), and operating expenses it costs tax payers, there would like be a huge uprising. However, many don’t care because they know they can’t do a thing about it. Instead, they get out their check books and write out their checks to Annapolis and Washington.
How does the word “illegal” fit into all this? If you aid and abet someone who has broken the law, are you not criminally responsible for something? I’m not sure if this is nothing more than the Democratic Party assuring the Hispanic voting block for future elections. The democrats in Annapolis are despicable, but they are smart. It’s all about power and power is in the numbers. The larger the group, the more powerful.
The descendants of Native Americans can tell you all about illegal immigration, and the impact it can have on their land (and rights). Currently, many of the border states are going broke, partly due to illegal immigration; yet, the Federal government does everything it can to block states from remedying the problem. Maryland obviously is not a border state, but it has been estimated that illegal immigration costs the state over a billion dollars annually (in terms of medical care, social benefits, and criminal justice).
Some will argue that they pay taxes and contribute to society. That may be true, but does the amount of tax they pay in counter the costs to the country and state? Studies have been done, and sometimes you hear bits and pieces of the actual costs to American tax payers (and Maryland tax payers) but the results are generally not published (much) because of political correctness.
I don’t know what the solution is. I do believe we need to know who is in this country illegally; how long they have been here; how did they get here; and, what are they doing here. I know that is an impossible task and the Federal government (and some states) will raise Constitutional issues and block efforts at every turn. Consequently, the “true” American taxpayer will continue foot the bill for “illegal immigration” with every paycheck, every item purchased, and every fee (that was a tax under Erlich but is only a fee under Owe’Malley) for many years to come.
Keep up the good work Pat, but with the current PC in Annapolis (that has also infested the court systems) I don’t believe it is worth it (but I do wish you luck). Sorry for being so pessimistic but I just got my tax return and saw how much I paid in taxes for the past year. Here’s a question: Would I benefit more by quit working, claim illegal status, and live off the government? Would I be better off? I could work some odd jobs under the table, make a few bucks, keep every dollar of it . . . and enjoy the sun on days I don’t want to work. What a deal.
Be it a new “fee” or a “tax” it’s additional money out of my pocket in some way, shape, or form! Money that’s gonna be pi$$ed away for special interest’s this and that.
Better if it were a ‘tax’ than a ‘fee’, at least then you could deduct it from your income, thereby lessening your federal tax obligation. Can’t do that with fees.
Pat McDonough is 100% correct in what he is doing. I support him fully on this topic. O’Malley is doing nothing more than aiding criminals, which in itself is something he should be arrested for. These illegals will not have valis social security/ tan ID numbers, so none of them will ever pay taxes because if they don’t, it will be tracked to the real owner of that number, not the illegal! When the work under these false numbers, they also clain 10+ dependents so next to nothing will come out of their paychecks either. They will be keeping classroom seats from legal citizens, just like they are taking jobs from legal citizens.
Go Pat go. At least there is one delegate in the la-la land we know of as Annapolis with some common sense. The more free stuff(education, health care, welfare,WIC, housing etc)we give away to illegals the more will come here.Why should the citizens have to pay? Some of these illegals may pay taxes but is anyone really going to check when a illegal applys for college? Six to 8 million dollars for the illegals,oops I mean new Americans and higher taxes,oops I mean fees, for Maryland citizens.The General Assembly sure did a great job this time. And just wait for the special session in Sept.You ain’t seen nothin yet.
I am not much for illegals. Every Maryland Taxpayer should be protesting the entitlements we provide for immigrants. I realize that we as a nation have been founded on the concept of immigration. I have an immigrant grandmother from France that knew more about our government and history than most American students today. The difference between now and then is she had to study and take the citizenship test to become a citizen.
Why are we not doing this for our current illegal immigrant population? Is Liberal and progressive America afraid of what happened in Paris several years ago? Are our politicians buying votes?
The only solace that I have with illegals is that Affirmative Action will soon place them on a higher grading scale than the African American, Native American, Chinese American, every other type of American populace. Maybe then the NAACP will take Caucasian Americans off the chopping block and start blaming new immigration on their continued suppression and missed opportunities. I know this sounds prejudice, and is inflammatory, but it isn’t inaccurate, especially to anyone that has ever been passed over for a job or promotion who has had more qualifications. The saddest part of AA is all of our children will now be suffering, trying to get and education, or a job and be completely ineligible because of the color of their skin be it dark or light or shades of yellow.
What if after getting a free education, or other tax funded entitlements illegals were forced to serve 3 to 5 years in the US Armed Forces? In my opinion if you want to live in the land of the free, you should do your part and help protect her.
Buy a clue, rent one, whatever. There are blacks who have been passed over of INFERIOR white males….Males with less experience, Less education…but their skin color and their willingness to kiss a$$ were the defining qualifations. So, stop whining with the AA.
Illegals need to go to the end of the line, period. Our voices better be heard
Don’t like having illegals here but until we get serious about prosecuting and incarcerating the employers who offer them jobs and are therefore complicite we really can’t stop it. Second this bill will really not apply to or many people at all and third Pat will never file a lawsuit because he never does. He has swore to so 4 times since being elected and never did. He promised to introduce lots of legislation this time and only got around to half of it. Pat Mcdonough is a big waste of space!
OK, you say Pat McDonough is a big waste of space, what is your opinion of the others in Annapolis? I see him as one who looks out for the tax payer the best he can. However, he’s up against a huge liberal infested monstrosity called the democratic party.
Depends on which others. Jennings for example does an excellent job and responds to all of his consistuents, even if he disagrees with you. McDonough however does not, he promises things and action and never does them! He spots off rhetoric to appeal to a certian demographic and ignores the concerns and mail of others!
CDEV,
It seems that when it comes to Pat McDonough you are in the minority. He may be wasted space to you because you may not necessarily agree with his philosophy, but apparently many do appreciate his voice in Annapolis whether he is able to act on it or not. I wish there were more like him in both Annapolis and Washington.
But, this is what is great about this country, you can voice your opinion and not be incarcerated or executed (at least for now). Things are being to change and now it has reached a point that if you disagree with the current president, you are racist.
Rob my issue with Pat is that he bloviates about things he has no intention of following through with. I actually voted for him the first time because I want someone to stire things up. My issue is he is unresponsive to his constiuents he does not agree with. He fails to reply to letters or e-mails. He does not follow through with things like this.
CDEV has an opinion of McDonough that is pretty common everywhere but in this county. His appeal to the lowest common denominator with the “Speak English” campaign branded him as a xenophobe a ways back. While “downhome” and “everyman” can appeal to salt of the earth types, his inability to speak grammatically correct English that he contends he loves so much is a problem.
@CDEV, I agree with you to a point. I would be happy to see them prosecute the employers to the fullest extent, but sadly coming here and living off of handouts or even out of a dumpster is better than staying in abject poverty so I doubt the influx will ease up as much as you think nor will they pick up and leave.
They might not pick up and leave but will stop coming thus allowing roundups to be successful in reducing the number. Additionally with siezed assets from buisnesses and personal assets we can make it revenue nuetral!
@CDEV, so you really think they’d stop coming? Begging on a street corner or selling flowers at the stop light is still better than starving to death back home. The need to destroy the drug cartels and clear out the corrupt governments so these people have a chance in their own countries has never been clearer.
It might not totally stop but slow it significantly if they can’t get jobs. It is not our place to clean up their country. As has been proven fences and mass roundups don’t work. The employer is just as criminal lets give this a shot. It can be revenue nuetral something the other things are not.
“…provide conditional permanent residency to certain illegal and deportable alien students who graduate from US high schools, who are of good moral character, arrived in the U.S. legally or illegally as minors, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill’s enactment. If they were to complete two years in the military or two years at a four year institution of higher learning, the students would obtain temporary residency for a six year period. Within the six year period, a qualified student must have “acquired a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or [have] completed at least 2 years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor’s degree or higher degree in the United States,” or have “served in the armed services for at least 2 years and, if discharged, [have] received an honorable discharge.”[2] Military enlistment contracts require an eight year commitment, with active duty commitments typically between four and six years, but as low as two years.[3][4] “Any alien whose permanent resident status is terminated [according to the terms of the Act] shall return to the immigration status the alien had immediately prior to receiving conditional permanent resident status under this Act.”
The bill aims to address two issues – 1. Correcting immigration difficulties for children brought here without permanent residency visas and 2. Increasing U.S. military recruitment numbers.
Someone want to post actual proof of the ‘billions’ of dollars this is going to cost us. Or the displacement of citizens from universities. Or the loss of jobs for citizens.
We can all make up facts to support or xenophobia / racism (funny how almost everyone commenting brought up specific racial groups without any mention of that in the article), but some of us prefer to think and discuss an issue rather than spout off misinformed opinions based on personal prejudice.
@Liberty Patriots for Flag Bearing Bald Eagles
What this bill does is reward people who are breaking the law. It matters not that you disagree with the law they’re breaking. It gives illegals something they have not earned and do not deserve. I am no more for this than I would be for standing outside the state pen and handing out bundles of cash to the new guests as they arrive. Every reward to illegals is a slap in the face to all those who have worked within the process to immigrate legally. Your insinuation that anyone opposed to this bill is xenophobic is the typical rhetoric I expect and I resent it.
When did I say that I agreed or disagreed with the Dream Act?
What I disagree with is the outrage from people who didn’t want to take the time to inform themselves on what the bill actually provided. In short it provides an incentive to the children of illegals to serve the country they were raised via military service and to gain citizenship via an alternative channel with the incentive of in-state tuition rates.
Remember this is from the the delegate who’s campaign platform was “Speak English.” There is a part of this that is pure contrived theater by McDonough to get people riled up over their specific prejudices applied broadly over the immigration debate. Whether this is to distract from other issues or merely to get his name out there is open for debate.
You may not appreciate my pointing out the xenophobia of others, but perhaps you should be as offended by everyone else who is making this a racial argument instead of an immigration reform debate. I do not agree with your perceived insinuation on asking people to provide facts for their opinions or in pointing out the latent racism used to mask actual discussion.
@Liberty Patriots for Flag Bearing Bald Eagles
Ok, so you neither agree nor disagree with the Dream Act. You simply want the folks to know what’s in it. However, since it’s granting a privilege to illegals which they have not earned and do not deserve it really doesn’t matter what’s in it. It’s automatically a bad idea. It’s automatically a slap in the face to anyone who has labored through the process to immigrate legally (which I am personally familiar with) or awaits legal permission to enter the country at this moment. Hey, here’s an idea… why don’t we like vote on it? You know, like in a Democracy… if it’s really a great idea everyone will be all for it and it won’t have to just be one more liberal agenda item for Annapolis to cross off their list.
I would agree on voting for it. While I can’t entirely disagree with the assessment that it is granting special favors, I am looking at it as a way for displaced children to be able to gain citizenship via an incentive program.
Semantics, I know.
At the end of the day, it should provide the state with legal immigrants who would otherwise be deported for at least a year before being able to apply for citizenship in the traditional path.
How would this be good for country? This country lacks enough jobs now, and we continue to export more jobs out of our country. How does having more people here for fewer jobs become a plus for the country?
The political demagoguery and testosterone is in abundance here. It seems like congress on a smaller scale. A bunch of pompous bellowing and finger-pointing with zero pragmatic solutions for middle class taxpayers. Do you all watch cable “News” all day and night to get your inspiration for most of this tripe? Same tired old politics as usual garbage from posters playing the same tired old games. It doesn’t matter what you all label yourselves and your groups. Different names – same ( well you know)!
the people gaining from this are illegal due mostly to their parents actions and employers whom gave them jobs anyway. I would rather see an undocumented get an education and work towards legalization than them just remain in low paying jobs which really don’t lead to ever becoming legal…part of the reason right now its hard for them to become legal is because the system requires an sponsor for a hard to find vocation, not hard to find people with manual skills and trades, but to become legal you would have to work in a field in demand for which there isn’t a high supply of workers. While illegal is still illegal, there should be a way to become legalized that actually benefits the country by having additional tax payers to the system.
Seems as though there is already a large number of persons here legally (both immigrant and natural born) who would like to have those jobs you speak of, since we have so many people unemployed. Why is it good for the country to bring more people to the job market, not to mention that they are here illegally?
This one’s easy, Pat resigns from his elected post, files the lawsuit as a private citizen and pays the lawer fees. That way at least we’re not paying his $$ and the lawer to defend the state in a lawsuit. After that he can pack up and move to a state he can enjoy the laws in, Arizona comes to mind.
@ONE MORE FORMER STUDENT Well first it’s lawyer not lawer [sic] so it seems you did not spend your academic time learning the English language and its proper spelling.
Furthermore any citizen can seek judicial remedy through all means available irrespective of their status.
the long term demographics show that the country needs more workers and people paying into the system, not less. The age of our population is getting older and we are at the beginning of retirement for the baby boom generation. We already see the future burden of social security and entitlements on today’s taxpayer. If you fast forward 20 or 30 yrs the picture becomes bleaker as our aging workforce will retire and there isn’t enough youth behind it to support those seeking to retire. This is happenning in all industrialized countries in which families of 1 to 2 children are commonplace and in many cases couples choose to go childless, at this rate the retired couple won’t have enough young ones paying taxes to afford their retirement.
Inmigration reform needs to happen sooner or later. Temporary visas can be granted to those gainfully employed, that don’t have a criminal record and are willing to attend civic and english classes. In addition, the nation needs to create a real ID card/act in which a national card can be issued to citizens and legal residents and this card should be your proof of legal status thus those that don’t have it would not be able to gain access to the marketplace to obtain jobs and heavy penalties, fines or jail time for those who house, employ or harbor illegal inmigrants. A driver’s license was intended to show state residency, not legal status and 50 states have different guidelines on how, when, what, where to issue their id cards.
If all the illegals become Americans, who will do all of the jobs that Americans will not do?
yea ,sorry for the mis=spell. too much time relying on spell check for reports., as for any citizen seeking legal remedy, great. No problem. But instead of going around with his hat in hand looking for some group to “make the charge; carry the flag” He needs to put his wallet were his mouth is and just get a laywer ( got it right that time ), himself. He’s getting almost as bad as andy Harris
As for the previous post, there a are lot of good points made. And it hits a number of problems on the head.There does need to be real reforms, and with many younger workers being to unreliable and/or too lazy; there are many jobs that need to be done and right now it seems the only ones doing them well or satisfactorily are illegals.
@ONE MORE FORMER STUDENT Actually it’s lawyer not laywer [sic] and no Andy is not supposed to protect a bloated Federal government workforce at the expense of taxpayers.
Go here to sign the petition to get it to a referendum http://www.mdpetitions.com/
My partner and I stumbled over here coming from a
different web address and thought I might as well check things out.
I like what I see so now i’m following you. Look forward to going over your web page again.
Overall, if you need more storage capacity, then you should definitely get
yourself a 6th Generation i – Pod Classic. Samsung M620 Black
mobile is just big enough to display four icons side by side and measures only 1.
Make sure you get a decent resolution LCD with any camera in this category.