For immigrant students in Massachusetts, especially those in higher education, coming to the United States provides an opportunity to achieve the American dream. But for an undocumented student, that chance at the American dream will come at a high cost.
"For me it's not fair because if I want to get educated and if I'm taking the same classes I don't think I have to pay more money," said Andree, a Haitian student at the Immigrant Learning Center (ILC) who does not want to reveal her last name for privacy issues.
Marica Hohn, the
ILC's director of public education, thinks the state is losing money
and people with high potential by not passing the in-state tuition bill,
which would allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates. The bill
got introduced to the senate and the legislature on January, 2009 by State Sen.
Anthony D. Galluccio and Rep. Marie P. St. Fleur. The bill states that
undocumented students would qualify for in-state tuition if they meet four
requirements. They are: 1) Attended high school in the Commonwealth for three
or more years, 2) Has achieved graduation from a high school in the
Commonwealth or attained the equivalent. 3) Provides the University of
Massachusetts, or the state or community college with a document reflecting
issuance of an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) in lieu of a
Social Security number for such purposes as a Social Security number may be
required under federal law 4) Provides a signed affidavit stating that the
individual will apply for citizenship or legal permanent residence in
accordance with federal statute and federal regulations within 120 days of
eligibility for such status.
"In my personal opinion I think Massachusetts is crazy if they don't approve in-state tuition rates for students because we are going to lose all that talent, and energy and workforce that the state is really going to need as baby boomers begin retiring," Hohn said.
Click below to listen to Marcia Hohn talk about in-state tuition in the New American's
Agenda.
Katheleen Klose teaches at the ILC and said she feels strongly about not categorizing people by their legal status. She argued against treating undocumented students as if they were inferior to citizens. She also maintained undocumented students should have the same educational rights as citizens no matter how long they've been living and studying in the state.
"They're here and they're going to be here. They're paying taxes, their families are paying taxes, they're supporting the economy and I personally think they have a right to go to school and not be discriminated against," Klose said.
In January, 2008, Gov. Deval Patrick publicly announced that he was studying whether he could bypass the Legislature to clear the way for illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at state colleges. However, in May, 2008, he decided to not take action on this matter, stating that there were "significant legal impediments" to that approach.
Hohn says the decision came as a surprise to everyone because studies and surveys showed that the public was in support of the legislation. Paul Watanabe, from the University of Massachusetts-Boston, conducted a statewide survey among the general citizens to determine support for the in-state tuition legislation. Seventy-five percent of those surveyed said undocumented immigrants should get in-state tuition.
If passed, the legislation would have some economic benefits. A 2006 MassachusettsTaxpayers Foundation report stated the legislation would contribute $2.5 million in new revenue for the state. The study concluded that with higher education, educated undocumented students would earn more income, pay more taxes and would rely less on government economic assistance.
Lawmakers dropped the in-state tuition bill when it came into consideration in 2006. Despite the evidence shown about the economic benefits the legislation would bring to the state, some state legislators continue to oppose it. In a recent statement given to the Associated Press for a November, 2009 article, Tom Bernardo, the spokesman for Rep. Demetrius Atsalis, said that the Democrat still opposed the bill because he believes it will make the state's college fee structure meaningless and will take away the incentive for undocumented students to legalize their status. Rep. John Fernandes, who also opposed the bill, also told the Associated Press in a recent article that he questions whether the bill should include provisions for assimilation or enforcement to keep it from being one sided.
Although the passage of an in-state tuition legislation is the first priority for undocumented immigrant students, there are other issues they are addressing. The Student Immigrant Movement (SIM) is a statewide immigrant youth-led organization based in Massachusetts that has been fighting for educational rights for immigrants since 2005. Renata Teodoro, a SIM organizer, said they are fighting to put the spotlight on other concerns.
"We also work for the DREAM Act which would create a path to legalization for undocumented students and we also want to work towards comprehension immigration reform," said Teodoro.
The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is federal legislation to benefit those students who were brought to the US undocumented at a young age and have lived and gone to school in the US almost all their lives. However, these students continue to face obstacles when it comes to having the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency. The DREAM Act was first introduced in 2001 and previously has garnered 48 Senate co-sponsors and more than 152 Republican and Democratic House co-sponsors, representing more than one-third of the House. The last time the legislation was presented to the Senate was in 2007. It needed 60 votes to pass but failed on a 52-44 vote.
Click below to listen to Renata Teodoro talk about how SIM began, what the organization is doing to fight for educational rights and her recommendations for immigrant students.
In addition to what the SIM is asking for, Hohn said there's a large group within Boston's immigrant community that doesn't speak English or hasn't had any type of formal education. These immigrants would like to have more English learning and basic education schools like the ILC available.
"Right now there are 16-to-18,000 people in the state waiting for English language services. It takes about a year to get into this center. We always have a waiting list of 800 or 900 so we vastly need to expand the English language services," Hohn said.
Click below to listen to Marcia Hohn talk about the need for more access to English language schools.
For Wembi, a Chinese student at the ILC who does not want her last name used for privacy reasons, having access to English learning services is much more than a personal goal to speak another language.
"I need to improve my English because I want to go to community college and I want to have a good life in the States. I will also be able to talk to my son who is in second grade in the States and knows better English than me," Wembi said.
Hohn said the state is investing $28 million to provide immigrant students these types of services. She noted that it's a lot more than other states are investing, but she said more is expected and needed.
"It's nowhere near meeting the $100 million that was recommended by Governor Patrick's transition team. They said that's the kind of investment that you need to make in adult basic education, which about 60 percent of it is English language services," commented Hohn.
She added that the government is currently working on transitional education programs that would benefit people who are in the higher class levels of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at the adult basic education centers. However, Teodoro said she believes the state government is not doing enough to provide higher education opportunities to undocumented immigrants. She's tired of waiting.
"I'm not too happy because they're always telling us to wait. 'Wait, this is not a good time to do this.' But when is a good time for change? You have to push change yourself, there's never a good time for it," said Teodoro.
In the 2009 Massachusetts New Americans Agenda, the Governor's Advisory Council for Refugees and Immigrants included in-state tuition rates in the recommendations for Gov. Patrick's education agenda. They also included access to state financial aid programs and urged public colleges and universities to provide information they produce on the application process and financial aid in multiple languages. In addition, they recommended that public colleges and universities request institutions to offer workshops to immigrant families on financial aid and general financial literacy.
International students face different battles
Undocumented immigrants are not the only ones facing obstacles while studying in the United States. International students have limitations on their work activities. Click here to find out what one international student has to say about visa and work issues.