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July 28, 2005
Immigrant grads’ dreams on hold
Jeremy Schwab
Over 30 activists converged on the State House
last week to demand legislators pass a bill giving undocumented
immigrants the same right to discounted, in-state college tuition
rates enjoyed by other Massachusetts residents.
The State House rally last week came at a critical stage in the
campaign to pass the Dream Act.
Support for the bill has grown since a version of the bill was
first introduced in 2001. The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee
Coalition, which is leading the campaign, has enlisted support
from a range of activist groups, business leaders, clergy, educators
and labor unions.
MIRA Coalition Executive Director Ali Noorani says that a majority
of members of the House and Senate now support the bill. The Dream
Act passed favorably through the Ways and Means Committee, whose
vice chairwoman is Marie St. Fleur, the act’s lead sponsor
in the House.
Still, some supporters are frustrated that lawmakers have not
put the measure to a vote of all House members.
“We have been trying to move it forward in the Legislature,
and so far for reasons presumably known to them, they haven’t
moved it forward,” said Thomas Keown, a spokesman for the
Irish Immigration Center, a MIRA Coalition member.
Because the Legislature failed to pass the bill before lawmakers
embarked on their five-week, unofficial summer recess this week,
the 400 undocumented students who graduated from Massachusetts
high schools earlier this year and other undocumented immigrants
who are high school graduates will have to pay the much higher
out-of-state tuition rates if they enroll in public college this
fall.
Many undocumented immigrants cannot afford the out-of-state rates
and so must forego a higher education.
“This is young people’s lives we are talking about,”
said Keown, whose group helped organize last week’s rally.
The MIRA Coalition initially hoped to move the bill to a vote
before summer recess. But Noorani and other supporters of the
bill said they still expect to garner enough votes not only to
pass the legislation but also to override a potential veto from
Gov. Mitt Romney.
Romney vetoed similar legislation last year.
“Our goal right now is to have the legislation move through
the House and Senate and to the governor’s desk in time
for kids to enroll in college in December,” said Noorani.
Noorani is hoping that supporters can maintain the momentum they
have built over the past year despite the summer recess.
“It is a challenge,” he said. “The fact is that
everybody in the State House knows the issue and knows it is the
right issue.”
Supporters of the Dream Act note that it would not cost taxpayers
anything. Undocumented immigrants would still pay tuition and
would have to qualify for college just like everybody else.
The act would only extend the reduced in-state tuition rates to
undocumented immigrants if they have lived in Massachusetts for
at least three years, graduated from a state high school and begun
applying for legal residency status.
Often, applications for legal residency can take years. Meanwhile,
students who often came to the United States at a young age often
find themselves without many employment prospects and without
enough money to afford college.
High school graduates like Steve may get some assistance from
a group of Boston-area colleges which are considering establishing
a scholarship fund for undocumented immigrant students. The schools
whose presidents have reportedly expressed interest in offering
the scholarships include Bunker Hill Community College, Lesley
University, Massachusetts College of Art and Cambridge College.
Scholarships would total about $5,000 annually per student and
would make up the difference between in-state and out-of-state
tuition rates.
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