Mass. Undocumented Immigrant Students Continue Fight for In-State Tuition Bill Despite Conservative Opposition
BOSTON/State House - In the face of continued conservative resistance to immigration reform proposals nationwide, over 100 undocumented immigrant students and allies attended the Wednesday January 27th hearing of the Mass. legislature's Joint Committee on Higher Education in State House Hearing Room B-2 in support of "An Act Relative to Equal Access to Higher Education and Generating Revenue for the Commonwealth" (S. 603/H. 1175). The bill would allow undocumented immigrant students who attended at least 3 years of high school in the Commonwealth to pay for tuition and fees at public colleges at the in-state rate. Currently, undocumented students are allowed to attend Mass. public colleges, but are required to pay the much-higher out-of-state tuition and fee rate - which advocates say effectively bars most of the students from attending college at all, given that most of them are from poor families.
The reform activists fielded several organized panels of testifiers - including religious, labor, legal, business and higher education leaders - virtually all of whom spoke in support of the bill. Several elected officials also spoke in favor of the bill, including Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville), Rep. Alice Wolf (D-Cambridge), Rep. Timothy Toomey (D-Cambridge), Rep. Marie St. Fleur (D-Boston), Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry (D-Boston) and Somerville Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz (D-Ward 6).
Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz (D-Boston) - the daughter of Franklin Chang-Diaz, a Costa Rican immigrant who went on to get his citizenship, get an MIT PhD and enjoy a successful career as a NASA astronaut - said, "Senate 603 provides equal access to higher education for ... Massachusetts residents who are in the process of becoming US citizens who have attended a Massachusetts high school for at least 3 years and who have received a high school diploma or its equivalent and have already been accepted and met the other requirements for attending a public college or university in Massachusetts. Additionally, this change would apply only to students who have a taxpayer identification number, ITIN, issued to them by the IRS. Accordingly the students we're talking about are taxpayers like you and I - as are the vast majority of their families according to the IRS.
"In short, Senate 603 seeks simply to treat fairly the young people who have attended school alongside your children and the children of everyone else in this room for years. Children who have worked hard for the same good grades. Students who are taxpaying members of our state and our country. And lest it be forgotten, students many of whom are currently serving our country in Iraq, in Afghanistan and other places around the world in our armed services."
Chang-Diaz was one of several speakers who made reference to a Mass. Taxpayers Foundation study that projected increased annual revenue to the state if undocumented students are allowed to pay the in-state tuition and fees rate - effectively making it financially possible for them to state higher education system as new students filling currently empty seats, "Senate 603 and House 1175 will be revenue generators for the Commonwealth at a time when we desperately need revenue generators. According to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, this bill would likely result in $2.5 million in additional revenue. And that was actually a figure that was projected in 2006. I spoke to Mike Widmer. He assured me that the concepts are still solid. But actually the dollar amount will probably be higher today since tuition and fees have gone up since they made this estimate in 2006. But in any case, even if we take a conservative estimate, $2.5 million in additional revenue - as an additional 400-600 students might enter Massachusetts schools once this is fully phased in in a few years. That means 2.5 million in additional revenue to help balance out the fixed overhead costs that our colleges and universities carry each year by filling seats that might otherwise be empty with paying customers. And it should be noted that, by Mass. Taxpayers own estimates, we're talking about a relatively small number of students statewide. And at the high end, if you take that 600 figure, spread over the 28 college and university statewide, that's only about 20 students per campus - which is in turn spread across all the course offerings and the classes that they would offer at those campuses. And those are numbers that we're talking about for the fourth year of implementation. So in the first year we're really talking more about between 60 and 80 new students coming in to our whole state college and university system. And community college system across the state."
Chang-Diaz concluded her remarks by pointing out that 10 other states - including conservative states like Texas and Utah - have passed similar bills granting in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant students. Often with bi-partisan support. She also said that many immigrants like her father went on to start businesses in Massachusetts that generated tax income and support the state's "innovation economy."
As the hearing moved along, most committee members didn't indicate much about their stance on the bill under discussion - primarily restricting their remarks to questions and brief comments. But Rep. Donald Humason (R-Westfield) spoke out against the bill's passage, "I would be probably one on this panel who would vote against letting this bill get onto the floor. And certainly if the issue got to the floor of the House I would be one to debate against it and vote against it. And let me just say this, I have the utmost sympathy for people who are trying to better themselves through public higher education. I myself am a graduate of Westfield State College and today I'm fortunate to represent my alma mater as both an alum and as a state representative. And while I know that many of the state colleges in Massachusetts think this is a terrific idea that we, in fact, should grant, in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in the Commonwealth. I have heard it from many of my constituents that it is not such a good idea. I'm not going to pontificate, I know I have the benefit of being on this panel.
"But I'll just say this, I've heard that we need to be aware of the issue of fairness, you know? I'll just say the first thing we try to teach our own citizens from the time that they're the very youngest of children is that America is a nation of laws and that we need to follow those laws and those rules that we all should abide by. And how then is it fair to give folks who are not in this country illegally, who are not following the laws an advantage that other citizens may not have? So, there are many reasons why I would oppose this. I think we'll have the opportunity to debate it within committee, and certainly on the floor. But I respect your position that this bill is a good idea, but I am one who would respectfully disagree."
Towards the end of the hearing, Renata, an undocumented immigrant student active with the main student organization behind the bill - the Student Immigrant Movement - gave personal testimony about her struggle to attend state college in the Bay State. She does not use her last name in public for fear of government retaliation. "I was born in Brazil. I came to the US when I was 6 years old. Growing up here, I always did well in school. I never realize why because I didn't think I was going to go to college.Senior year of high school came and I still hadn't decided - it was toward the end of the school year - but one day I was called down to the auditorium at school and I got there. And I saw all my classmates and my friends there and they seemed all excited and I was trying to figure out what was going on.
"So I walked toward the chair with my name on it and I find a sheet of paper on it and it said "you have won the Abigail Adams Scholarship." I became so excited. But two seconds later, my heart fell because I knew I couldn't receive it because of my status. I was angry and I was upset. But that anger made me take all the money that I had saved up four years of working to put to one year of college. My first semester was really great, it was amazing, I had wonderful professors. And I just couldn't wait for second semester. But before second semester came around, immigration came to my home. They detained my brother and told my younger sister - who was 15 at the time - that they would be back for the rest of us. So my mother sent my sister back to Brazil. And she sat me down and she said, "Are you coming back with me?" And I told her "No. I want to stay and I want to fight. Because I don't want your sacrifices to be in vain."
Renata continued, "And that's when I found the Student Immigrant Movement. I found students like me who are motivated and have courage. And the reason I'm in this room today is because those students gave me courage to stand before you. And I want you to take a moment and think about why you're in this room today. What brought you here? You had ancestors that came from other countries. Maybe your parents. Your grandparents. Your great-great grandparents. And what did they sacrifice for you to be sitting here and have this opportunity. And I know you're afraid right now because of the political climate. but I want you to borrow some strength from us students and from your ancestors. And to think about what would they say to you right now? Because I know what my mom would say. She'd say that I'm proud of you for speaking for thousands of immigrant students. What would your ancestors say? And I think they would tell you that you should make a stand - a favorable stand for this bill."
Despite the strong turnout at the hearing, advocates face an uphill climb to achieve passage of the immigrant tuition bill. On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that Gov. Patrick stated that the bill "isn't going anywhere" during his weekly radio show on WTKK-FM - although he remains in favor of its passage.
