Tennessee Governor Haslam Supports In State Tuition for Illegal Aliens
TIRRC
Dear Friend,
Earlier this week you received an email from TIRRC's Policy Director, Lisa, about the first vote on our tuition opportunity bill. The committee was cancelled as a result of the president's visit yesterday, and the vote has been rescheduled for next week. In response to that email, we've heard the same question from many of our supporters: do you really think you can pass a bill to grant in-state tuition to undocumented students in this climate?
This isn't the first time we've heard this question. When we launched the campaign in 2012, as we worked to defeat more than 30 anti-immigrant bills in the state legislature that year, many thought we were overly optimistic and even a little naive. But just three years later, we came within one vote of passing our bill in one of the nation's most conservative legislatures. We haven't given up, and we believe our campaign is stronger than ever.
Since we launched the campaign, immigrant and education organizations across the state have pledged their support for the campaign and joined our coalition, business leaders and chambers of commerce have endorsed our bill, and farmers across the state voted to include the bill in the Farm Bureau's legislative priorities for the last two years.This week we learned that Governor Haslam supports SB1014, our Tuition Opportunity bill. In 2013, the governor launched Drive to 55, a campaign to increase the number of college graduates to 55% by 2025. Tuition Opportunity aligns with the governor's goal of reducing barriers to higher education and creating a more educated workforce to drive economic growth and fill skilled labor shortages. Supporting Tuition Opportunity is not only the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do.
In 2016, dozens of students who would benefit from tuition opportunity urged the governor to support their dreams of achieving a higher education.
Please take 2 minutes to thank Governor Haslam.
Script:
“Hi, my name is __________. I live in _______, TN. I want to thank Governor Haslam for supporting tuition opportunity for all Tennesseans regardless of immigration status. I am grateful for the governor’s support of SB 1014, a bill that would allow certain undocumented Tennessee students the opportunity achieve their dreams of a higher education."
* If you are a DREAMER or an educator please tell them what the governor’s support means to you!
Our momentum is building. We hope you'll join the campaign this year. Stay tuned for calls to action and ways to engage your representatives. And we hope you'll consider making a donation to fuel our community organizing work that leads to powerful campaigns like Tuition Opportunity.
With hope
Stephanie Teatro, Co-Executive Director
P.S. For the past five years, the Tuition Opportunity campaign has been led by visionary, courageous, and relentless undocumented youth. Next Wednesday, undocumented students and their teachers will head to the capitol for our Tuition Opportunity Day on the Hill. If you're an educator or a Dreamer, we hope you'll join us!
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