Attorney General Mark R. Herring of Virginia told the state’s public colleges and universities on Tuesday that children brought to the United States illegally and raised here, the so-called Dreamers, qualified for in-state tuition.
Mr. Herring, a Democrat, issued the legal opinion after Republicans in the General Assembly killed a state Dream Act early this year. It was the second time he acted independently on a controversial policy in his short tenure: In January, days after being sworn in, he refused to defend Virginia against lawsuits challenging its ban on same-sex marriage, a choice that enraged Republican leaders, with some calling for his resignation.
Virginia politics increasingly resembles the polarization of Washington. Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, and the Republican-led House of Delegates are deadlocked and headed toward a possible government shutdown over expanding Medicaid under President Obama’s health care law. In the capital, Richmond, there is talk of Mr. McAuliffe’s resorting to executive action to extend Medicaid to the working poor, echoing the president’s efforts to work around Republican opponents in Congress.
Mr. Herring, who won election last year only after a recount, justified his actions on in-state tuition, as on same-sex marriage, by appealing to progressive principles.
“These ‘Dreamers’ are already Virginians in some very important ways,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. “Instead of punishing and placing limits on these smart, talented, hard-working young people, Virginia should extend them an opportunity for an affordable education.”Read the rest of the story HERE.
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