Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland, says a federal investigation into Western Michigan University’s scholarship practices is long overdue. He calls the probe the result of two decades of work.
“It’s been 20 years in the making,” Hall said. “It’s great to see President Trump taking action on it.”
The Speaker cited a meeting last week with U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, who announced the investigation. The effort comes amid mounting concerns that universities may be awarding financial aid to illegal immigrants, something Hall says Michiganders oppose.
“People expect that illegal aliens shouldn’t get welfare,” Hall said. “I think people believe that we should pay out accurately on food stamps only to people that are eligible.”
Hall’s criticism extends beyond welfare to taxpayer-funded education benefits. As a former student at Western Michigan University, Hall says he first became aware of the issue on campus.
“When I was a student at Western, we actually registered some strong disagreement with these kind of scholarships,” Hall said. “They were giving scholarships to legal aliens, in some cases, even 20 years ago. That was actually an issue that I raised a lot of attention about as a college student here.”
Now in a position of influence, Hall says it’s time for policymakers to step in and ensure that taxpayer-funded scholarships are awarded fairly. He says public money should not favor non-citizens over American students.
“We shouldn’t be giving scholarships to illegal aliens,” Hall said. “We also shouldn’t be giving out scholarships that discriminate against citizens.”
Hall praised Trump’s involvement in the issue, saying the federal investigation is “a good thing” and reflects long-standing concerns about fairness in how public money is distributed.
