Tea Partiers across Maryland are saying the referendum effort to repeal newly passed legislation allowing illegal immigrants to receive in-state college tuition rates is exactly the fight they’ve been waiting for.
“There’s no question we are going to be involved,” said Potomac Tea Party blogger Ann Corcoran. “And it goes beyond the in-state issue. This is an opportunity to broaden our reach to Democrats, independents and those who see this as a fairness issue, and we see this as a fabulous opportunity to organize conservatives across the state of Maryland in preparation for 2012.”
The referendum drive has been spearheaded by former Hagerstown Tea Party leader Neil Parrott, who won election to the House of Delegates as a Republican last year. He and Del. Pat McDonough, R, will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. in Annapolis today to formally roll out their plan to collect the 55,736 signatures needed by June 30.
No single leader or group
Much like the structure of the national Tea Party, there is no single leader or group in charge of the referendum efforts in Maryland. There are at least 30 identifiable Maryland Tea Party groups representing thousands of members across the state.
One of the larger groups participating in the referendum process, Maryland Society of Patriots, has over 1,700 Facebook followers and about 1,000 e-mail addresses of people from Montgomery County, Baltimore County and the Eastern Shore.
“We are planning on aiding as much as we can in the referendum effort,” said founder Sam Hale. “We are planning on holding a meeting in Montgomery County on May 5 to rejuvenate and reorganize our activists.”
Dave Wallace, an organizer for Restore America’s Mission, has helped bus hundreds of Marylanders to Tea Party events in Washington. His group, which has about 700 “activists,” will also help to collect signatures for the referendum.
“It’s a responsibility that government not go and help finance lawbreakers, and that’s exactly what this is,” Wallace said. “This is the wrong direction,”
The Department of Legislative Services estimated the tuition discounts will cost taxpayers $750,000 in 2014 and increase to $3.5 million by 2016. But the cost could be significantly higher than that since it is based only on the experience of Montgomery College, according to a March 14 story in MarylandReporter.com.
GOP not in a lead role
While dozens of Tea Party groups across the state are gearing up for the signature drive, the Republican Party has taken a less aggressive stance. Maryland GOP spokesman, Ryan Mahoney said the party will not take a lead role in the signature collection drive.
“This is an effort that is going to be led by Del. Parrott,” Mahoney said. “It’s bigger than any one political party, but with any legislation that’s damaging to Maryland taxpayers, the Republican party is here to provide logistical support and resources to insure Maryland has laws that are moving us in the right direction, not backward.”
Americans for Prosperity, a national conservative group which helped organize some initial Tea Party events in Maryland, will have no role. “We will not be participating, and we have no comment,” said Deputy State Director Nick Loffer.
McDonough told Fox 45 TV he may pursue legal action against the state board of elections for delaying the approval of signature petition language. Final petition language was approved April 21, eight days after it was first filed by Parrott.
State elections board spokeswoman Donna Duncan said the bill summary text was originally ruled insufficient by Assistant Attorney General Jeff Darsie, and the board fully complied with its requirements during the approval process.
The state board of elections has five business days from the time it receives an application request to make a determination and an additional two days to notify the sponsor of its response, Duncan said, quoting from Articles 6-202 and 6-210 in the election law handbook.
Whether the signatures collected prior to the April 21 petition approval will be counted is another story. Duncan said it would be depend on what was on the back of the petition. It is supposed to include “the full text of the Act; or a fair and accurate summary of the substantive provisions of the Act, which has been approved by the Attorney General,” according to the election board regulations. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Duncan said.
The in-state tuition bill was originally scheduled to be signed on Monday by Gov. Martin O’Malley, but due to the funeral for former Gov. William Donald Schaefer, the signing was delayed and is now expected to take place May 10. Undocumented high school graduates would be eligible to receive the tuition discount at community colleges beginning next fall.
By Glynis Kazanjian for Maryland Reporter
Gren Whitman says
The Tea Party is angry about so-called illegal immigrants, so what do they do? They go after the immigrants’ children.
Except for Native Americans, we are all immigrants or the children of immigrants — including Tea Partiers!
The Tea Party’s lexicon apparently doesn’t include “decency” or “compassion” or “common sense”!
MD Eastern Shore says
I oppose any favorable treatment for anyone who breaks our nation’s laws, and that include people who have crossed our borders illegally.
The reason why this bill in particular is attracting so much attention is because its a focused and highly visible granting of a privilege which is based upon the fiction that people who are in our great country illegally can somehow either be considered residents of MD. Not only is the concept intellectually insulting but Annapolis has reached into my pocket and is slapping me around with my own wallet. Its an outrage.
How decent and compassionate is that? I work too damn hard to have my tax dollars used to insult me.
StellaL says
In the long run is it not better for our state to have educated people? The tea bagger’s anger seems so missplaced.
don sparks says
thank you md es my sediments exactly!
Sandy Terpeluk says
Illegal immigrants are “ILLEGAL”. Maryland has a structural deficit of $1.1 Billion. Laws should be passed to decrease the deficit, not increase it. The University of Maryland. College Park’s tuition costs are $8,416 for in-state tuition. Out-of-state tuition costs are $24,831. This leaves a difference of $16,415 to be subsidized by the taxpayer – per illegal immigrant. The State of Maryland already pays over $1 Billion dollars a year on illegal immigrants for K-12 education, medical expenses and incarceration. Again, illegal immigrants are “ILLEGAL”. The Kent County Republican Central Committee will be circulating petition sheets throughout the Kent County in the coming weeks, please email [email protected] if you want to participate.
Cynthia McGinnes says
We have to decide on a federal level what to do about these children. We are paying to educate them, but they cannot legally get jobs in this country because they have no green card. It makes no sense for Maryland taxpayers to pay for their college educations when they can’t legally hold a job in Maryland or any other state, and any employer who hires them is also breaking the law. It is shameful that the politicans have allowed these children to grow up, and still have not been able to solve the problem of illegal immigration. What are these children supposed to do with their education? Go back to the country they came from? Where there are no jobs? Yet there are no jobs for them here either.. I do feel sorry for these young people who are basically in no-man’s land through no fault of their own. I have nothing but contempt for the politicians who cannot fix this problem. The borders should have been closed years ago. The employers of illegals should have been punished years ago, and a proper guest worker program should have been implemented years ago, regardless of union objections.
Jason says
I think my only problem with the Tea Party’s stance on this is that they seem to want illegals to continue to pay taxes despite being denied the rights of tax paying individuals. I understand that they are illegal immigrants, but if we are going to accept them living here, we are going to tax them, then shouldnt they benefit at least some from the social system that the taxes pay for? Either tax them and let them into the colleges and universities, or don’t do any of it.
Cynthia McGinnes says
How can they pay taxes if they can’t hold a job legally and don’t have Social Security numbers?
Chris says
How many illegals actually meet the REQUIREMENTS to receive in-state tuition for their children?
5? 500?
Anyone have actual numbers?