Of the many headwinds threatening New Hampshire’s economic future, one of the more important ones is the state’s flagging ability to develop and retain a home-grown and well-educated workforce.

The consequences of this trend are exacerbated by the fact that people are moving into the state at the lowest rate in more than 60 years. Many reasons contribute to this trend, including high energy prices, rising property taxes and the high cost of post-secondary education. Put them together and the Granite State is no longer considered the land of opportunity it was in the 1980s.

Consider, also, that earning a college degree is more important today than it ever has been. Labor Department statistics show that, over the past decade, the annual earnings of high school graduates working full-time have declined in comparison to the earnings of college graduates.

In the past, one of the prominent reasons companies were attracted to the state was because New Hampshire offered a dependable pool of well-trained and motivated workers. That reputation has faded over the years, along with several other factors that once comprised the cornerstones of the “New Hampshire advantage.”

So it only makes sense that the state should be doing as much as it possibly can to encourage young people to earn their college degrees here. Those students are more likely to stay and, as a result, replenish the workforce needed to encourage new companies to come to New Hampshire and existing companies to expand.

That’s why the state Senate should filter out the hyperbolic and xenophobic opposition rhetoric that was tossed around Representatives Hall last week, when the House passed a bill granting in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants. While opponents sought to cast the legislation as unfairly rewarding people who flaunt the law at the expense of legitimate citizens, the reality is that it’s good public policy for a state struggling to escape the great recession.

The legislation includes strict guidelines regulating who would be eligible for assistance. Students would have to be a graduate of an in-state high school or have received a New Hampshire high school equivalency certificate. They would also have to have attended an in-state high school for at least three years and met all the other in-state criteria. In addition, students would be required to apply for legal residency.

For those who think of this debate as simply conservatives versus liberals, think again.

One of the first states to grant in-state tuition to the students of illegal immigrants was Texas. Gov. Rick Perry signed the measure into law in 2003. During the 2012 Republican primary debates, Perry argued that anyone who opposed the policy was heartless.

Just last year Gov. Chris Christie agreed to allow New Jersey to become the 16th state in the country to legalize the practice.

“The most important thing is for these young men and women of our state – who we have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in their K-12 education – we’re now going to give them an opportunity in an affordable way to be able to continue their education,” Christie said,

Christie’s point is well taken. It is inconsistent to provide these students with high school education and then cut them off and – as one N.H. legislator did last week – accuse them of being thieves for receiving in-state tuition. With so few post-secondary educational options already available to undocumented youth, it’s senseless to deny opportunities to students who want to better themselves and become productive members of society.

It’s as if opponents of the legislation want the children of illegal immigrants to fail so that their angry prejudices and ignorant stereotypes will be confirmed.

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