In Virginia, Gov. Youngkin’s Budget Helps Black American Students At The Expense of Illegal Aliens
When Glenn Youngkin ran for the Virginia governorship last year, he vowed that “Virginia must do a better job of supporting our historically Black colleges & universities [HBCUs].” Now that Gov. Youngkin has signed the commonwealth’s $165-billion two-year budget – which includes tax cuts, increased teacher pay, and reroutes funding from illegal aliens to HBCUs – one could say that he is following through on his promise. And putting Americans – particularly those from historically underprivileged backgrounds – before foreign nationals who are in the United States unlawfully simply makes sense.
One of Gov. Youngkin’s 38 total amendments to the budget channels $10 million in funding from financial aid to illegal alien students towards students at five HBCUs: Virginia University of Lynchburg, Hampton University, Virginia Union University, Norfolk State University, and Virginia State University.
Another amendment makes $5 million – which is to be provided to Fairfax County for a “vocational welcome center” run by the pro-illegal-alien advocacy group CASA – contingent upon prior approval by the Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources. This effectively gives Gov. Youngkin veto power over the CASA welcome center.
Pro-mass-immigration activists and most Democratic politicians were particularly unhappy about the amendment prioritizing American citizens over unlawful immigrant students. They falsely portrayed it as a sinister attempt to pit one ethno-racial group against another by “weaponizing state financial aid as a cheap political ploy to divide communities of color.” According to The Washington Post, critics also accused the governor of creating a “false scarcity problem at a time when Virginia has a budget surplus, and it demands that lawmakers sacrifice one needy group of students for another.” As usual, the apologists of illegal migration prefer to racialize the issue while ignoring the legal elephant in the room and the distinction between citizens and illegal aliens.
Even so, it should be noted that two Democrats in the (Democratic-controlled) Virginia Senate broke with their party on this amendment, thereby allowing it to pass: Lionel Spruill of Chesapeake, and Joseph D. Morrissey of Richmond. As Morrissey explained, “By voting for this bill we are supporting students at HBCUs. That’s the bottom line. That’s why I’m going to support it (…) I’ve been to Virginia State … and personally spoken to students who would not be there but for grants that were given to them.”
Delegate A.C. Cordoza (R-Hampton) responded to the critics by emphasizing that “HBCUs have been historically underfunded — we’ve heard that from both sides — and the governor is trying to do something about it, and all we are hearing are complaints.” As The Washington Post admits, “Financial need is high at HBCUs, where many students come from low-income households. Generations of meager state appropriations, paltry donations and inequitable federal funding have left the universities without institutional resources to fund robust scholarships, making every additional dollar crucial.” At a time of increasing economic and financial suffering for Americans – particularly those from lower-income backgrounds – there is no compelling reason to be utilizing tax dollars to benefit illegal aliens instead of them.