Federal law mandates that states charge illegal immigrants out-of-state tuition rates for public higher education. Yet, a number of groups fighting for immigrants’ rights are organizing and drafting legislation that would allow illegal immigrants with Massachusetts residences to take advantage of in-state rates, joining Texas, California, New York and Utah in skirting federal law, according to The Boston Globe. United States citizens, as beneficiaries of the wealthiest and most powerful democracy of the world, do have a responsibility to help those less fortunate throughout the rest of the world. But allowing immigrants without citizenship to take advantage of cheap tuition rates at public colleges and universities, which are intended to be reserved for the state’s full tax-payers, shows a disregard for federal law and is unfair to those whose tax dollars have earned them the state’s cut rate.
The effort, spearheaded by a coalition of immigrant-rights groups called MIRA, would allow the state’s illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at colleges and universities, like those in the University of Massachusetts system and community colleges. In-state tuition rates can be as little as one third of out-of-state rates, according to the Globe. The federal law, the 1996 Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act, mandates that undocumented illegal immigrants pay the required out-of-state tuition dollars, though Congress has been gradually liberalizing the law, according to the Globe.
Attempts to sidestep federal law are problematic because they defeat the purpose of making those laws in the first place. Though activists within Massachusetts and other states fervently believe federal law is irresponsible, the fact is that the federal laws exist and must be obeyed. Until federal legislators give states the freedom to charge undocumented immigrants what they want for public education, states must follow the law’s provisions fully. In the same vein, though some may believe that the country’s immigration laws are overly restrictive, laws must be obeyed as long as they are on the books illegal immigrants are not United States citizens, and thus should not enjoy the same benefits as those who are.
Making higher education more affordable to illegal immigrants is also a stopgap solution to a much larger problem. Immigrants often come to the United States illegally because of the hope for a better life. America is clearly better off economically than all Latin American countries, the origin of many illegal immigrants. But allowing those immigrants access to the country’s services does not get to the root of the problem Americans should help solve the problems with illegal immigrants’ home countries, working to fix their own higher education and other social welfare services.
The effort is also poorly timed. State lawmakers are already faced with huge deficits to reconcile and a state populace that, by narrowly turning down a complete repeal of the state’s personal income tax, evidenced its displeasure with taxes on Nov. 5. Increasing the number of students enjoying cut-rate tuition at state colleges will only further burden the already overburdened state budget. Rather than increasing the availability of state-subsidized higher education in lieu of other very necessary public services, state legislators should focus on re-balancing the budget and restoring stability within the commonwealth.
However, Americans in general have a responsibility to think about helping those less fortunate in countries throughout the world. Not only do we have a disproportionate amount of the world’s resources that must be more equitably shared, but helping those countries out will naturally curb illegal immigration by making illegal immigrants’ home countries more attractive. Raising the standard of living throughout the world is not only positive from a moral standpoint, but it can also serve our own self-interest.
Creating a law in Massachusetts allowing illegal immigrants to attend the state’s public colleges and universities at lower in-state rates both is an unsatisfactory attempt at solving a much larger problem and irresponsibly ignores a federal mandate. Though all Americans should help share the country’s unparalleled wealth, Massachusetts citizens should not have to give cheap tuition benefits to those who are not full taxpaying citizens.
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