Resident Status for Immigrant Students

Re “Rally Backs Effort to Help Immigrant Students,” April 13: It seems to me that if a child graduates from a California high school and he or she attended high school in this state for a full three years, that child should be entitled to resident status for tuition purposes regardless of residency status. We should remember that, since 1607, this land has benefited from the best, the brightest, the most ambitious and the most courageous immigrants.

There is no reason to change that now -- nor is there any reason to overcharge a child who qualifies academically for the Cal State University system or the University of California and has lived in California continuously for three years. Presumably, during those three years, taxes were paid by the family and will continue to be paid. These children are not asking for a special privilege but just to be treated like everyone else. We should want this country to have the intellectual help of its brightest and most talented high school graduates, whoever they may be.

David Golding

Long Beach