State officials debated what they said were the pros and cons of the Maryland Dream Act on Sunday in Lusby during a panel discussion that aimed to inform the public.

About 120 people attended the panel discussion at Middleham and St. Peter’s Parish, “The Big Conversation.” The Rev. David G. Showers said he and several committee members worked together for more than a year to put together the first session, where three panelists spoke in favor of the law and three panelists spoke in opposition to it.

“We’re not here to change minds, we’re here to open and illuminate minds,” Showers said.

The Maryland Dream Act became a law in 2011 and allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities. They must attend a community college first and then transfer to a university to finish their four-year degree.

Students are eligible for receiving the in-state tuition rate if they attend high school for three years and graduate or receive their GED, provide documentation that their parent filed a Maryland income tax return annually for three years prior to their high school graduation and continue to file taxes until their college graduation and provide an affidavit stating they will file to become a permanent resident within 30 days of being able to do so.

About 58,000 signatures were collected during a petition drive last summer led by opponents of the bill to block the law from taking effect this year. A referendum on the act is slated to be on the November ballot.

Del. Sheila Hixson (D-Montgomery) said the Dream Act is important because the state does not want or need an uneducated workforce.

“I think that we gain if we have an educated group out there,” Hixson said. “I’m very supportive of this.”

It is mandated by the federal government that children attend kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school, Hixson said, and taxpayers are obligated to pay for that.

“We already pay for all of the illegal and undocumented immigrants’ children to go to school,” Hixson said. “What this bill does is it takes the next step.”

Mike Hethmon of the Immigration Reform Law Institute said Virginia passed legislation in 2003 banning the receipt of public benefits for illegal immigrants and also restricted the enrollment of illegal immigrants in most state and public universities.

“Virginia has reacted exactly the opposite of the state of Maryland,” Hethmon said. “We’ve seen, as a result, movement of criminal gangs and movement of the most marginal types of illegal aliens from Virginia to the more hospitable shores of Maryland.”

Bladensburg High School teacher Elias Vlanton said the federal government has not enforced its strict employer sanctions and essentially “looked the other way when people crossed the border” and allowed illegal aliens to work for low wages.

“It’s the children of these workers that we’re trying to deal with today. The Maryland Dream Act was adopted to address in Maryland the problem of our failure as a society and the government and business community to consistently apply our own laws,” Vlanton said.

Vlanton said the Dream Act is not about immigration but about taxpayer justice. Six percent of the workforce in the state is unauthorized laborers, he said, who all pay taxes. Their tax money is being used by the government to pay for higher education.

“We have this incredible situation where they … have been taking from us, when in fact, we have been taking from them,” Vlanton said. “All the Maryland Dream Act does is bring Maryland law closer in line with American judicial principles.”

Del. Anthony J. O’Donnell (R-Calvert, St. Mary’s) said the failure of the federal government to enforce or modify immigration laws to the “appropriate status” and “secure our national borders” has created a problem for more than three decades.

O’Donnell said he does not believe the state is taking money from illegal immigrants to provide services. He said the state has limited resources and needs to spend that money wisely.

O’Donnell said even if an illegal immigrant receives a college degree, he still would not be able to legally work since he does not have a legal presence in the United States.

“We go to great lengths to get this advanced degree supplemented with taxpayer dollars and then folks can’t use it to lawfully do work here and will continue to break the law,” O’Donnell said. “That’s unfortunate.”

Sen. Victor Ramirez (D-Prince George’s County) said it’s “not exactly true” that students who graduate from college will not legally be able to work in Maryland. He said many of those students are either waiting for political asylum or waiting for their applications for citizenship to be processed.

Ramirez said the Dream Act is for students who want to pursue higher education. He said the state wants to have the most educated community workforce and eventually the illegal immigrants who receive an education will give back to the community.

“We’re talking about … kids graduating and … giving them an opportunity, not a handout, to go on and better themselves and better us and contribute more to the state of Maryland,” Ramirez said.

Matt Morgan, who led the repeal effort in St. Mary’s County, said Maryland is currently facing a $1 billion deficit. To deal with that deficit, he said, the federal government has cut money from programs including transportation and Chesapeake Bay Restoration funds; increased fees for land records, vanity tags, motor vehicle titles and birth certificates; increased the alcohol tax by 50 percent; and increased tolls.

“The state of Maryland is broke, yet the Democratic leadership took it upon themselves to give in-state tuition rates for illegal aliens,” Morgan said.

Morgan said the state is not singling out students who are in the country illegally, but is asking them to pay the same tuition rate that a legal student from any other country would pay.

kfitzpatrick@somdnews.com