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Immigration leads to O’Malley and Obama spat

By WTOP Staff

BRIAN WITTE
Associated Press

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley was one of Barack Obama’s top fundraisers in 2012, raising more than $1 million for his re-election campaign and supporting the president regularly on political talk shows. Now, O’Malley is finding out what it’s like to be on Obama’s bad side.

Days after O’Malley criticized a White House proposal to deal with the immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, reports surfaced of a leaked phone call between the governor and a top Obama aide. The details appeared to make O’Malley look like a hypocrite on the matter, publicly criticizing the White House’s calls to speed up deportations of children arriving on the border, while pleading with the administration to not send the young people to one site in his state.

The incident marks a rare public skirmish between the president and a member of his own party who has made no secret of his possible 2016 presidential ambitions. On Wednesday, O’Malley publicly accused the White House of leaking the conversation.

“I don’t really care,” O’Malley told reporters Wednesday, when asked about the leak. “It’s right, and treating these children in the manner in which they’re being treated now is wrong, and as Americans we have to all do our part to alleviate this humanitarian crisis, and perhaps … now the president has the room to call upon faith leaders to be a part of the solution.”

O’Malley aides emphasized that recommending against locating children at one location did not mean the governor opposes housing the children in Maryland. On Monday, the O’Malley administration took steps to formally create a licensing process for providers to help the children in Maryland after weeks of working on the matter.

While O’Malley’s administration has said it’s working to find temporary shelters for immigrant children arriving from Central America, he asked the White House in a private conversation not to send the children to one of the sites that had been under consideration, according to a source familiar with the conversation. The conversation between O’Malley and White House domestic policy adviser Cecilia Munoz took place late Friday evening.  The person familiar with the content of the call said O’Malley told Munoz that the facility in Westminster, Maryland, was in a conservative part of the state, and the children were at risk of getting harassed or worse. The source insisted on anonymity in order to publicly discuss the private conversation.

The Maryland State Police are investigating as a hate crime graffiti on a former military building that was under consideration in Westminster. Someone spray-painted the former Army Reserve Center with the words: “NO ILLEAGLES HERE NO UNDOCUMENTED DEMOCRATS.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest confirmed that the conversation between O’Malley and Munoz occurred, but declined to elaborate or characterize the conversation.

“What this administration has done over the last several weeks is be in touch with state and local officials across the country to enlist their support and their tangible contribution in dealing with the situation that we’ve seen at the border,” Earnest said.

The disclosure of the call comes after O’Malley sharply criticized proposals from the Obama administration that could speed up the deportation of many of the 57,000 unaccompanied children who have arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months. It also highlights a potential rift between the White House and a Democrat considering running to replace Obama in the 2016 presidential election. O’Malley was a top fundraiser for the president’s re-election campaign, helping raise more than $1 million to keep Obama in the White House.

O’Malley was outspoken about the issue at the National Governors Association meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday.

“We are not a country that should turn children away and send them back to certain death,” O’Malley told reporters.

Nina Smith, an O’Malley spokeswoman, said it would be wrong to suggest the governor’s position on the Westminster site suggests he is not willing to have the children in Maryland. Smith said O’Malley and other state officials have been working with federal partners and local officials to try to play a constructive role in addressing the matter for weeks.

Meanwhile, the Maryland Department of Human Services submitted plans Monday to take preliminary regulatory steps to create a licensing process for providers who could help unaccompanied immigrant children. The step comes after several potential locations to house them in the state were considered and rejected.

___

White House Correspondent Julie Pace and Associated Press writer Josh Lederman in Washington contributed to this report.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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