The pro-Dream Act crowd, as indicated by recent letters printed in The Sun, frequently describes the in-state tuition debate in terms of fairness. Yet the reason that the pro-illegal immigrant crowd continues to see their Dream Act slipping away is due in no small measure to the fact that they really can't answer the fundamental fairness questions the legislation presents.

For starters, it's certainly not fair to those immigrants who have been waiting to enter the country legally for Maryland to give any special treatment to those who jumped to the head of the line illegally. That's a no-brainer.

But this isn't about the illegal parents, it's about children who entered illegally through no fault of their own, right? Not so fast.

Ask anyone who has set up a 529 plan, taken out a second mortgage on a house, sold property or just plain went into further debt to finance their children's education, and they will tell you that in many cases parents pay a significant portion of a child's college costs. So in large measure it will be precisely the adults who entered this country illegally who will benefit most from the in-state tuition break being offered by the Maryland Democrat's.

(It's also worth noting that these same Democrats continue to pass legislation watering down voter registration laws. Both initiatives, presumably, are designed to bolster the fortunes of entrenched Democrat politicians seeking to take advantage of voting fraud by illegal immigrants.)

In addition to the unfairness of putting this group ahead of legal residents, all the other problems with this legislation haven't gone away. It's being proposed at a time when we can't afford it, and it will make Maryland a magnet for illegal immigration (which no reasonable person can believe will make us economically or socially a better place to live).

And despite claims to the contrary, there is no realistic expectation of any workforce gain to the state, since no one who is here illegally is permitted to work legally. The fact that the illegal immigrant population is notoriously transient makes it even more unlikely that Maryland will ever recoup its investment.

If you still have doubts this legislation, just read the letters written by its proponents. Time and again, they revert to name calling and false charges of xenophobia and racism, which is just the type of behavior folks tend to engage in when they don't have the facts on their side.

Michael DeCicco, Severn