June 9, 2023

To: Sen. Michael J. Rodrigues, Chair, Senate Committee on Ways and Means

Rep. Aaron M. Michlewitz, Chair, House Committee on Ways and Means

Sen. Cindy F. Friedman, Vice-Chair, Senate Committee on Ways and Means

Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, Vice-Chair, House Committee on Ways and Means

Sen. Patrick O’Connor, Ranking Minority Member, Senate Committee on Ways and Means

Rep. Todd M. Smola, Ranking Minority Member, House Committee on Ways and Means

CC: The Honorable Senate President Karen E. Spilka

The Honorable Speaker of the House Ronald Mariano

FR: The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition, the Massachusetts Tuition Equity Coalition (MTEC) and the Undersigned MIRA Coalition Members, Allies, and Partner Organizations

RE: Access to In-State Tuition Rates at Public Colleges and Universities for Immigrant Graduates of Massachusetts High Schools, Regardless of Immigration Status

We, the 81 undersigned immigrant-serving organizations and allies, are grateful to the leadership of the House and Senate for your generous support for legislation and programs providing critical services and assistance for the Commonwealth’s immigrant and refugee communities in recent years. We are especially grateful for legislative advances that address the needs of the most vulnerable members of our Commonwealth’s diverse immigrant communities, such as last year’s historic passage of the Work and Family Mobility Act.

As you finalize the FY24 budget this year, we respectfully request that the conference committee extend in-state tuition and state-funded education assistance to eligible Massachusetts high school graduates, regardless of their immigration status, as provided in outside section 8 of the Senate budget.

Immigrant advocates and higher education leaders in Massachusetts have long supported broad access to an affordable public college education for immigrant youth, particularly those without status who arrived in the U.S. as children and have been educated in our public schools. Currently these students are required to pay out-of-state or international tuition rates (up to four times the in-state rate). They are overwhelmingly from low-income, hardworking families, often with substantial responsibilities to contribute to family income, but lack access to both federal and state student financial aid. This combination effectively denies some of our most ambitious and talented high school graduates from continuing their education and contributing to the Massachusetts economy.

We support the inclusion of the in-state tuition provision for the following reasons:

Our Commonwealth should continue investing in these students. There are an estimated 15,000 undocumented students currently enrolled in Massachusetts primary schools. Massachusetts should make good on this investment by allowing these students to fulfill their educational potential.

Expanded access to public higher education is an investment in the future Massachusetts workforce. In Massachusetts, immigrants are 80 percent more likely than US-born residents to start their own businesses, ranging from family-owned small businesses to tech startups. Nearly one in four entrepreneurs in Massachusetts is foreign-born.

Our public colleges and universities would benefit from broadening educational access to include these students, given declining Massachusetts enrollment rates. Foreign-born students account for a substantial portion of the public college and university student body. Nationally, 83% of immigrant college students were enrolled in public institutions (as opposed to private ones) in 2018. Meanwhile, college enrollment in Massachusetts has declined by over 10% since 2015.

We believe that Massachusetts has a historic opportunity to join the over 23 states that have expanded public higher educational opportunities to undocumented high school graduates, and continue this legislature’s legacy of support for our immigrant communities. The proposed policy would benefit our public higher education institutions, our labor force, and most importantly, the Massachusetts high school graduates who are educated, work, and pay taxes here in our Commonwealth.

Respectfully,

Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition

Massachusetts Tuition Equity Coalition

32BJ SEIU

ACLU of Massachusetts

Action for Boston Community Development, Inc. (ABCD)

ADL New England

African Bridge Network

Agencia ALPHA

American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts

Amplify Latinx

Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW)

Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence (ATASK)

Berkshire Immigrant Center

Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center

Boston City Councilor At-Large Ruthzee Louijeune

Boston Immigrant Justice Accompaniment Network

Boston Teachers Union

Brazilian Women’s Group

Brazilian Worker Center

Brockton Workers Alliance

Cape Cod Coalition for Safe Communities

Central West Justice Center

Centro Presente

Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts

Citizens for Public Schools

Coalition for a Better Acre

Coalition for Safe Communities

Community Action Agency of Somerville, Inc.

Community Economic Development Center New Bedford

Dominican Development Center/ Boston Immigrant Worker Center

East Boston Community Council

East Boston Neighborhood Health Center

Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program

Harvard Representation Initiative

Health Law Advocates

Hildreth Institute

Housing = Health

Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI-USA)

Immigrants’ Assistance Center, Inc. (IAC)

International Institute of New England

Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action

Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston

League of Women Voters of Marblehead

League of Women Voters of Massachusetts

MAPA Translations, Inc.

Massachusetts Action for Justice

Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS)

Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice

Massachusetts Association of Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages (MATSOL)

Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless

Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance

Massachusetts Immigrant Collaborative

Massachusetts Law Reform Institute

Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA)

Maverick Landing Community Services (MLCS)

Mayor Ballantyne, City of Somerville

Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement

Merrimack Valley Project

MetroWest Legal Services

Metrowest Worker Center – Casa

Multicultural Education, Training & Advocacy (META) Inc.

New England Justice for Our Neighbors

Northeast Justice Center

Northeastern University School of Law Immigrant Justice Clinic

Pathway for Immigrant Workers, Inc.

Paulist Center Immigrant Advocacy Group

Progressive Massachusetts

Rian Immigrant Center

Rosie’s Place

Saheli Inc

Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston

Somerville Homeless Coalition, Inc.

Somerville Public Schools

Stories Inspiring Movements (SIM)

Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice

The Welcome Project

TRUE ALLIANCE CENTER INC

uAspire

Unitarian Universalist Mass Action

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445

YWCA Central MA