Gov. Patrick Needs to Stay the Course on In-State Tuition

It is unfortunate, to say the least, that Gov. Deval Patrick recently chose to renege on his promise of a few months ago to grant hundreds of children of undocumented immigrants the right to pay in-state tuition rates to attend public colleges in Massachusetts.

Every year about 400 students who parents immigrated to the U.S. illegally, but who were raised and educated here in Massachusetts public schools, are effectively denied the possibility of attending state colleges and universities because they are forced to pay out-of-state tuition rates.

Not because of anything they did, but because of decisions their parents made to seek better lives here rather than remain in their home countries - most of which have long since been economically looted by U.S.-based multinational corporations and subjected to decades of oppression by dictators propped up by the ever corporate-friendly U.S. government.

Many of these students are at the top of their respective classes, yet even if granted in-state tuition, will still have to pay for most of their college expenses out-of-pocket as they are not eligible for government grants and loans. The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation therefore estimates that the students would contribute $2.5 million a year to the state higher education system if they were able to attend. So no "hand out" is involved here. It's truly one of those "win-win" reforms neoliberal types (and traditional con artists and grifters) are always so fond of talking about.

Nativist detractors of in-state tuition claim that allowing the students to pay in-state tuition would deny seats to the children of citizens and legal immigrants, but that argument rings hollow given that there are more than 40,000 students that attend public colleges every year in the Bay State - and 400 students is only 1 percent of that number.

Hundreds of people representing a broad swath of society have lobbied the Governor in the last several weeks to follow through on this promise to help the students - and yet he has clearly caved not to local nativist pressure groups which are relatively weak in Massachusetts, but more likely to the possibility of national campaigns against any overtly pro-immigrant actions he might take.

But that is unacceptable given that states with strong nativist movements like New Mexico, Texas, Utah, California, New York, Illinois, Washington, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma have already passed similar legislation.

This situation is a clear injustice from the perspective of this publication - as is criminalizing immigrants who chose to enter this country by any means necessary in an era when the U.S. immigration system is completely politicized and massively dysfunctional - and we encourage all people of good conscience to contact Gov. Patrick's office immediately to demand that he reverse course and do whatever is necessary to guarantee in-state tuition to all affected students from this year forward.

We will now state for the record that Open Media Boston supports the right of all human beings to move freely about the planet, and that we call on all nations - the U.S. foremost among them - to develop fair and rational immigration systems that respect the fundamental human right of migration.

After all, why should capital be free to move where it will - often leaving economic devastation in its wake worldwide - while humans are denied the same freedom?

And why should kids who have committed no crime but taking advantage of public educational opportunities that have (thankfully) been presented to them - and excelling at their studies - be financially blocked from attending public colleges that have already accepted them?

Ask that question to Gov. Patrick's office, when you contact them at 617-725-4005 and 888-870-7770 (in state).

For more information, check out the Higher Education Opportunity page of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition website and the Student Immigrant Movement website.