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
