Two immigrant students graduated from Boston public high schools. Both earned good grades and maintained solid attendance. Both speak fluent English and both consider themselves Americans.

But due to a Massachusetts law, one student will be charged the lower in-state tuition rate when applying to public colleges in Massachusetts, while the other will be charged the out-of-state rate, which can be as much as four times higher.

The difference between the two students is that one has a green card and one does not. Because the student without the green card is an illegal immigrant, she is not considered a permanent resident, and is therefore forced to pay out-of-state tuition rates at public colleges in Massachusetts.

The Task Force on Immigrant Access to Higher Education was created to help eliminate this discrepancy. Organized by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, the task force has worked to bring in-state tuition prices to non-permanent residents through protests and lobbying.

‘We try to get more support from businessmen, unions and education committees,’ said Elizabeth Matos, immigration rights coordinator for MIRA.

MIRA has worked with legislators to pass laws like the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, Act which would allow undocumented immigrants of ‘good moral character’ to apply for permanent residency upon graduating from high school. Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah) introduced a version of the bill in the House of Representatives.

Though the DREAM Act, sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) offered a ray of hope for MIRA and groups like it, Massachusetts still charges illegal immigrants out-of-state tuition rates.

Matos said the state, specifically the University of Massachusetts, discriminates against immigrant students and students without green cards in other ways as well, especially in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

‘Since 9/11, these students have been increasingly denied admission,’ Matos said.

According to Matos, this is in large part due to Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which requires universities to track international students. Since colleges have no way of tracking illegal immigrants, they are reluctant to admit them.

With help from organizations like MIRA, the issue of educational inaccessibility has entered political debate. Currently, a bill that would allow non-permanent residents to pay in-state tuition rates is being debated in both the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives.

Sponsored by Senator Jarrett Barrios (D-Cambridge) and Representative Marie St. Fleur (D-Dorchester), the In-State Tuition Standardization Act would lower university charges of illegal immigrant students to the in-state tuition level, provided students ‘live in the U.S. for a number of years and have gone through the Massachusetts school system,’ the bill states.

In a statement about the bill, Barrios wrote, ‘Most [students] were brought at a very young age by their parents and thus had no part in the decision to enter the country illegally. Almost all of them speak English and consider themselves Americans.

‘They will be prevented from attending college because they cannot afford out-of-state tuition and do not qualify for Pell grants or student loans,’ he wrote.

According to MIRA, giving immigrants access to education is especially important in Massachusetts, a state that is highly dependent on the immigrant workforce.

‘According to recent research, Massachusetts was more dependent on immigrant labor for its labor force growth during the 1990s than any other state in the United States with the exception of New York,’ Matos said.

MIRA is organizing a protest that will send hundreds of Massachusetts students to Washington, D.C. at the beginning of September to voice their concerns over the issue. Students plan to stay with congressmen who support the bill, Matos said.

‘When legislators see these kids staying with other congressmen, hopefully, they’ll see this as an important issue,’ she said.