Hundreds of immigrants living in the United States illegally will gather on the campus of Rutgers Newark Saturday morning to get information about how they can attend a public college or university in the Garden State, and pay in-state tuition rates.

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(Carlos de Andres, Cover/Getty Images)
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Ferlanda-Fox-Nixon, the acting director of communications at Rutgers Newark, said the idea of the Rutgers fair is to “to provide them information on the services available to them, information is given about the admissions process and there’s information about financial aid, and then there’s a resource fair available to them.”

Three years ago, Gov. Chris Christie signed the New Jersey Dream Act legislation that allows undocumented minors living in Jersey to pay in-state tuition rates for public colleges and universities.

Fox-Nixon said several community groups and community colleges will also be at the fair to give advice and explain what they have to offer.

New Jersey state Senator Mike Doherty, (R-Washington) said he finds all of this very upsetting.

“We’re not taking care of our veterans, we’re not taking care of our senior citizens, yet we’re having a fair to basically educate folks who haven’t entered the country legally how to get in-state tuition,” he said. “I don’t think we should be encouraging folks to enter the United States illegally, I actually think we should get control of our boarders try to control who’s coming into our country,” Doherty added.

He also said people in New Jersey should be following the law.

“When they don’t they should not be rewarded, and that’s what this fair is doing, it’s encouraging people to continue to break the law and actually rewarding them for doing so,” he said.

Doherty said he sits on the state Senate Judiciary Committee and he’s looking forward to getting the input of the Rutgers Board of Trustees about this situation.

“Was this approved by Gov. Christie, was it approved by the President, was it approved by the Board of Trustee members, I’d like to know because it seems like unauthorized activity," he said.

“Maybe the president of the university should call it off,” Doherty said.

When he learned the Rutgers School of Law will give a presentation on legal issues and how illegal immigrants can apply for temporary legal status, he said he didn't think "the law school should be providing legal advice on how to skirt the law."

"We’re supposed to be a nation of laws and your first act as a future American should not be breaking the law," Doherty said. “There’s tens of millions of Americans who are outraged that our federal government and our state governments have done nothing to stop the flow of millions of people across the borders of the United States illegally. It needs to be controlled, but unfortunately Republicans and Democrats in Washington have looked the other way for one reason or another.”

The fair is set for this Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ackerson Hall on the Rutgers Newark campus.

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