BUFFALO NEWS: Grisanti blasts plan to help illegals with tuition

State Sen. Mark Grisanti blasted Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s proposed legislation that would allow young illegal immigrants to access financial aid for college in New York, saying it’s unfair to students and their families who live in the United States legally and are struggling to cover the cost of tuition.

“I’m compassionate … But I can’t help that some of their parents brought them here illegally,” Grisanti said Saturday, a day after the Democratic Assembly leader made his proposal.

“The people I’ve talked to in my district and even in Albany – people born here in the U.S. or came here through proper channels – can’t even afford to get their own children into school,” Grisanti said.

By making more aid available to students who are illegal immigrants, he said, “you’re depriving other resources to people who need to get their own kid to college.”

Grisanti pointed out that the tuition aid comes as the state’s Tuition Assistance Program was cut for graduate students.

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/capital-connection/albany/article1011917.ece