Here’s the left’s idea of equity. If you’re an American citizen who lives in Idaho, you pay out of state tuition to attend a public university in Oregon. If you’re an illegal immigrant who happens to live in Oregon, you pay in state tuition.

That’s fair, right?

Gabriella Morrongiello of the YAF blog writes.

Oregon’s “Tuition Equity” Bill Holds a Hidden Agenda

The quickest way to befriend a child is to hand them candy. Want to assure a permanent life-long supporter of liberal policies? Hand out government subsidized programs. That’s exactly the motive behind the “Tuition Equity” bill that has been adopted in many states and is now coming before the newly left-winged majority legislature of Oregon.

What so many fail to ask when advocating government handouts such as food stamps, housing vouchers, health care or reduced college tuition for children of illegal immigrants is: at whose expense will these programs be covered?

In the case of Oregon House Bill 2787, which proposes allowing children of illegal immigrants residing in Oregon to benefit from in-state tuition at publicly-funded universities, it is my mother and father who will shoulder the financial burden.

I am a sophomore at Oregon State and one of the 8,906 out-of-state students currently attending the university. Compared to an Oregon resident who pays roughly $8,000 annually in tuition, my parents foot a $22,000 bill each year. My tuition is substantially higher to help compensate the Oregon taxpayer for the use of the bricks and mortar, the cost of faculty and administrator salaries, pensions and benefits, and maintenance and upkeep of the campus grounds.

Illegal immigrants whose children attend Oregon high schools are not paying taxes to cover the expenses for Oregon public universities either. If these individuals wish to have their child attend an Oregon university, I believe they ought to pay out-of-state tuition just as my parents do.