Thread: Immigrant tuition break called a net gain

Undocumented would lift economy, BRA says
By Raphael Lewis, Globe Staff | November 12, 2005

Providing in-state college tuition to undocumented immigrants would be an economic boon to Massachusetts, because college graduates pay far more in income taxes than high school graduates, the Boston Redevelopment Authority says in a new study examining the impact of a controversial bill pending on Beacon Hill.

The study, commissioned by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, determined that immigrants with college degrees earn more than twice the wages of those with a high school degree alone and would generate significantly more tax revenue. And because three-quarters of all in-state college students end up staying in their home states after graduating, Massachusetts would see $4.20 returned in income taxes for every dollar spent on its tuition investment over the typical 40-year career of such individuals, the report concludes.

''The additional investment represented by in-state tuition discounts for public higher education is more than offset by the state taxes paid by a college-educated worker," according to the study, obtained by the Globe.

Alvaro Lima, the BRA's director of research, said yesterday that state colleges and universities would also benefit if the bill were passed. The reason: The vast majority of undocumented immigrants avoid going to state universities because they can't afford the roughly $18,000 in tuition and fees charged to out-of-state students. In-state tuition, by contrast, costs about $9,300.

If the proposed bill passed, Lima said, community colleges would collect an extra $1,200 per student each year, and universities would see about $9,000 per student annually.

With roughly 400 undocumented immigrants expected to take advantage of the tuition break annually, Lima said, the net revenues for state higher education institutions would be considerable, Lima said.

Under the bill, undocumented immigrants would qualify for in-state tuition if they graduate from a Massachusetts high school after attending it for at least three years and if they sign an affidavit affirming that they intend to seek citizenship. Nine other states have already passed similar legislation, including California, New York, and Texas. The Bay State measure is sponsored in the House by state Representative Marie P. St. Fleur, a Dorchester Democrat, and in the Senate by Jarrett T. Barrios, Democrat of Cambridge.

Governor Mitt Romney and Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey have blasted the proposal on two levels: They contend that it would reward illegal activity and that it would cost the state tens of millions of dollars it would have otherwise received by charging out-of-state tuition.

In a recent Globe op-ed column, Healey argued that the state would end up paying roughly $15 million to subsidize the four-year higher education of 400 undocumented immigrants who attend a state university.

Similarly, Citizens for Limited Taxation has criticized the bill, as have groups opposing illegal immigration.

Eric Fehrnstrom, the governor's communications director, challenged the BRA study's findings yesterday: How can undocumented immigrants contribute tax revenue to the government, he asked, if they cannot work legally?

''The report is flawed because it overlooks the fact that it is against the law for companies to hire illegal aliens," Fehrnstrom said. ''That is a fundamental flaw. You can't count on that tax revenue, because you can't count on companies breaking the law. It's pretty straightforward."

But Ali Noorani -- who heads the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, which is spearheading the campaign to pass the bill -- said that, under current laws, undocumented immigrants can legally obtain a federal Individual Tax Identification Number, which enables those who are not eligible for a Social Security Number to work gainfully in the United States.

''The only documentation you need to get this [ITIN] is a valid birth certificate and a valid passport," Noorani said. ''The beauty of the IRS is, they don't care what your immigration status is, they want your tax dollars."

Lima said the BRA conducted its study at the behest of the mayor, who announced his support for the tuition bill at a rally this spring in Copley Square.

Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, a Democrat running for governor, announced his support of the bill earlier this month.

Yesterday, the measure got another high-profile backer: US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a Democrat, who along with Arizona Senator John McCain, a Republican, has sponsored federal legislation that would let undocumented workers stay in the country legally while they apply for citizenship.

In a statement to the Globe yesterday, Kennedy said: ''Unless we open the doors of college to all immigrant students, thousands of young people will be prevented from pursuing their dreams because of unfair immigration laws."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have another drink, Ted. Good thing you took those swimming lessons at the YMCA on Martha's Vineyard.

New Hampshire is the outskirts of Heaven. Massachusetts is the entrance to hell.

It is obvious that this person Alvaro Lima who is a Brazilian believes that every violator of America's immigration laws is going to be amnestied. With an attitude like his and a on the part of a community leader it is no wonder that the Brazilians have become the largest group of immigration violators in Massachusetts.

There is also a neccessity for a business planner to plug in both positive and negative assumptions in a business projection. This paper of his includes two major assumptions amnesty for everybody and a state retention rate for the illegal immgrants matching the statistics for the in-state college in general that is the residents that were citizens and legals.