Harvard helps illegal alien deprive U.S. citizen of a Harvard education (Maria Sacchetti, Drew Gilpin Faust, Cleopatra Andreadis)

The latest attempt to promote the anti-American DREAM Act is the case of a illegal alien [1] who's studying at Harvard and who might be deported after having been picked up by ICE while trying to fly from San Antonio back to Boston [2]. This is a sad case, but what you won't hear in the media is the fact that he's taking a Harvard education away from a citizen.

According to [3], 27,268 applied to Harvard University for the Class of 2012 [4]. Only around 1936 were admitted. The vast majority of the 25,000+ who weren't admitted are probably citizens. Thus, whoever made the decision to admit the illegal alien student at the same time made the decision to take a Harvard education away from a U.S. citizen. Whoever made the decision could have just as easily selected a U.S. citizen; they choose to select an illegal alien instead.

There's really no escaping that very simple math: what Harvard did deprived a U.S. citizen of a Harvard education. And, among the 25,000+ who weren't admitted - or the hundreds of thousands of bright students who applied elsewhere - the chances that the illegal alien student is the best is very small. He might be an outstanding student, but then so too are the thousands of other Americans who Harvard decided to pass over. Add in the fact that he's receiving a full scholarship, and what Harvard is doing to Americans gets even worse. If you're one of those who applied to Harvard but who wasn't admitted, write them and let them know what you think.

Depriving a U.S. citizen of a Harvard education in order to give it to an illegal alien isn't just anti-American: it's a direct attack on the concept of citizenship itself. It's also horrible public policy. It encourages others to bring children here illegally with the expectation that things will work out. And, the illegal alien student does have other options. Namely, returning to Mexico where he can no doubt get a free or low cost education at a top Mexican university. American students don't have the same option. Harvard and other universities have turned their backs on Americans in order to help those who have other options.

Those promoting bad, anti-American public policy include Maria Sacchetti of the Boston Globe (link). She can't even come up with a whole sentence describing the downsides of the bill she promotes: "Opponents say it would reward students and their families who broke the law by entering the country illegally, but supporters point out that children had no say in their parents’ decision to bring them to the United States." Compare the first half of that sentence to the simple, inescapable math above. And, her article makes it clear that the problem goes to the top of Harvard:

Balderas was arrested a year after Drew Gilpin Faust, Harvard president, urged Congress to support the Dream Act, federal legislation that would allow immigrant youths to apply for legal residency, under certain conditions. Faust recently met with US Senator Scott Brown, in part to urge him to support the measure... Yesterday, a Harvard spokeswoman praised Balderas and said he is an example of why Congress should pass the act... "Eric Balderas has already demonstrated the discipline and work ethic required for rigorous university work and has, like so many of our undergraduates, expressed an interest in making a difference in the world," said Harvard spokeswoman Christine Heenan. "These dedicated young people are vital to our nation’s future, and President Faust’s support of the Dream Act reflects Harvard’s commitment to access and opportunity for students like Eric."

6/15/10 UPDATE: Cleopatra Andreadis of ABC News offers (link) a similar report to that offered by Maria Sacchetti with the only differences being that a) she includes a blurb from the Immigration Law Center about the bill that, of course, doesn't reveal any of its downsides, b) in fact, she offers no hint whatsoever that some might oppose the DREAM Act for the reasons outlined above and, c) she lets us know that Harvard knew what they were doing:

When asked if Harvard University was aware that Balderas was living in the country illegally when he was admitted to their school and given a full scholarship, Kevin Galvin, Director of Media Relations, told ABC News, "Harvard accepts people from all over the world."

6/20/10 UPDATE: Per this: Balderas [has now] been granted deferred action, a discretionary authority that federal immigration officials can use to halt a deportation based on the merits of an individual's case. Obviously, that wasn't unexpected: the Obama administration could care less that he took a Harvard education from an American citizen.

[1] According to the Facebook group created for him (facebook.com/group.php?gid=118015094907966) "Originally from Mexico, Eric’s family immigrated to the United States due to domestic violence in their native country." There are no doubt tens of millions of people around the world suffering under domestic violence. Is the proper public policy for them all to move to the U.S.? There are probably a million or more Mexicans suffering under domestic violence. Should they all move here? There are probably a million or more Americans suffering under domestic violence. Should they be allowed to move to Mexico? We have asylum laws for extreme cases, but the cure in this case would seem to be for them to solve their own problems in their own country, just as Americans do.

[2] On the flight he tried to use a matricula consular card and his student ID, because he'd lost his Mexican passport.

[3] thecrimson.com/article/2008/6/3/the-class-of-2008-by-the

[4] He's in the Class of 2013; if anyone has updated statistics leave a comment. However, there's probably little difference between the number of applicants and acceptance rates for 2012 and 2013.