Quirk, Oliver Won't Support Petition Letter

Five Baltimore County Council members released a letter this afternoon asking county voters to sign a petition opposing a bill that would grant in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

But two others, Democratic Councilmen Ken Oliver and Tom Quirk say they will not join with their colleagues

"I don't think that people understand what the law is about," said Oliver, who referred to the children affected by the law as "teens" and "high school graduates."

"These high school graduates have to show that their parents have paid taxes for the last three years," Oliver said. "If they're paying income taxes that means they have a job."

"It doesn't mean the kids are illegal," Oliver said. "The parents might be but if the kids were born here, they're U.S. citizens."

Yesterday, Patch reported that five of the seven council members would sign and publicly release a letter calling on county residents to support the effort to force the so-called Maryland Dream Act to referendum on the 2012 ballot. The law allows illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at community colleges and the University of Maryland.

Quirk, a freshman councilman from Catonsville, said the issue is "a federal issue and somewhat of a state issue."

"I think we should stay out of it," said Quirk. "I don't want the federal or state government stepping into our issues."

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