Thread: Undocumented students live in Massachusetts without benefits

http://www.tuftsdaily.com/vnews/display ... 884d9e18ad

Published October 21, 2005
Undocumented students live in Massachusetts without benefits
By Judith Wexler
Daily Editorial Board
The children of some undocumented immigrants in Massachusetts are not able to attend school because they are denied in-state tuition prices.

That was the claim of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) at a speech on campus Thursday in front of 20 students. Two representatives from the organization spoke about the problems faced by undocumented high school students and about their ongoing efforts to change the situation.

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney vetoed legislation last year that would have allowed reduced tuition for undocumented students. Texas, California, Utah, Washington, New York, Oklahoma, Illinois, Kansas and New Mexico have all passed similar legislation.

MIRA estimates 400 undocumented high school students each year are unable to attend college because of the prohibitive cost of out-of-state tuition. The group is now leading a push for a two-thirds majority in the Massachusetts state house necessary to override the veto.

Without documentation proving legal residence in the state, the cost of community college can rise from $3,000 to $10,000 per year, and going to a state school costs as much as $20,000. Students also encounter barriers when they try to apply to college without social security numbers.

The MIRA representatives were careful to point out that "undocumented" does not necessarily mean "illegal." When lower tuition is not available, the students have few options.

"What are you supposed to do?" MIRA representativa Carlos Saavedra said. "Work at McDonalds for $6.25 an hour when you're the most talented kid in the school?"

Although undocumented students do not qualify for in-state tuition at Massachusetts schools, their parents still pay taxes to the IRS and are tagged with tax identification numbers.

MIRA is organizing a rally at the state house on Tuesday to pressure legislators. They want 400 protestors to fill the grand staircase to represent each student that is unable to complete their education every year.

"We have to have something for these students right now, because federal immigration reform is going to take years," Saavedra said. He urged current college students to see this as a pressing social issue and to stand up and fight, calling the problems faced by immigrants "a new generation of segregation."

"Immigrants are the engine of this country," he said.

Saavedra said fear is one of the biggest obstacles facing undocumented students. "A lot of them are scared. They're scared that if they speak up they'll get arrested."

The event was sponsored by the University College of Citizenship and Public Service.

Undocumented students live in Massachusetts without benefits

"Immigrants are the engine of this country," he said.

And it's high time the US had a major engine OVERHAUL.

The MIRA representatives were careful to point out that "undocumented" does not necessarily mean "illegal."

I thought "undocumented" was the PC term for "illegal"?

I found this on Washington Legal Foundation's website. It was my understanding that they were also going to go after some of the other states listed above. I hope they do. But what I would rather see happen is illegals denied in-state tution rates period! Just another outrageous example of how they have more rights than we Americans have.

"On August 9, 2005, WLF filed a formal complaint with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) against Texas, charging that Texas is violating the civil rights of U.S. citizens who live outside the State. WLF charged that Texas is violating federal law by offering in-state college tuition rates to illegal aliens who live in Texas, while denying those same rates to nonresident U.S. citizens. WLF called on DHS to bring appropriate enforcement action against Texas, including ordering Texas to refund excessive tuition charges. The federal statute at issue, 8 U.S.C. § 1623, was adopted in 1996 and is designed to ensure that any State that offers discounted, in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens on the basis of their residence in the State must offer the same discounted rates to all U.S. citizens. In 2001, Texas adopted a law that allows illegal aliens to attend public universities at in-state rates but has refused to extend that same opportunity to U.S. citizens living outside Texas."