The number of prospective immigrants who were deemed “inadmissible” because they might become a “public charge,” dependent on government benefits, skyrocketed between 2017 and 2019.

The changes that were made under the revised immigration policy have now been reversed under President Joe Biden. But the effects still remain. For the three oldest children of José Ruiz Arévalos, it meant putting their college dreams on hold. 

Educators, students, policymakers, and others are in the midst of a welcome national conversation about the student debt crisis, and there’s plenty to say on that front. Significant cancellation of the $1.7 trillion owed by borrowers would offer vital, immediate relief to more than 45 million Americans. 

But we also need to think bigger if we want to prevent public goods, like colleges and universities, from becoming private luxuries. It’s time to overhaul our existing models for financing higher education, writes Elizabeth Tandy Shermer of Loyola University Chicago in this commentary.