Yesterday the humanitarians at North Carolina's community colleges slammed their doors in the faces of undocumented immigrants. This is the first decision of its kind in the country, and it effectively shuts off higher education opportunities for hundreds of mostly Hispanic would-be students.

A 1982 Supreme Court ruling says the children of illegal immigrants are entitled to an education in the public U.S. system through high school. And until yesterday, those children had a reasonable hope that they could then move on to a public community college or state university to earn a higher degree.

But earlier this week, the North Carolina attorney general dashed those hopes when he advised the state's colleges and universities to deny admission to all illegal immigrants based on his reading of a federal law -- that no one seems to fully understand. The university pres said he'd wait until the law in question could be clarified or even substantively cited, but the community colleges ran with the attorney general's advice.

Hispanic leaders are outraged but optimistic about getting the decision overturned. And students from UNC-Chapel Hill are also petitioning the state legislature to keep state college doors open to all students.

What I'm wondering is what the real ultimate goal of this new policy is. Say what you will about blah blah the burden of these students on American tax payers in this, blah blah our maybe sort-of tiny recession -- denying them higher education is a burden on our future as a country. This isn't going to drive undocumented students away in search of education elsewhere. These are mostly children of immigrants who've grown up in the United States for the vast majority of their lives, and consider this their home; some don't even have the option of returning to their "home" countries. Considering that more people than ever before are getting college degrees stateside, now they'll likely just be forced into dead-end menial jobs with little opportunity for advancement.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather live in a country full of skilled, educated people instead of, oh, I dunno, shooting ourselves in the foot?