Governor Deval Patrick will direct state colleges and universities Monday to allow young illegal immigrants to pay the lower resident rate for tuition and fees as soon as they obtain work permits through a new federal program, a senior administration official said Sunday.
Patrick’s declaration ends five months of anxiety for immigrants who cheered President Obama’s decision in June to temporarily halt the deportations of immigrants age 30 and under, only to plunge them into limbo in Massachusetts as officials said they were reviewing whether the immigrants were eligible for the lower rates. But the governor’s announcement also raised criticism that he is neglecting American citizens struggling to afford college.
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Suburban families continue to get screwed. Parents responsibly buy a small house, save for college, you get to pay the inflated price tag cause by government interference in the college market. Kids work hard and do all the right things, affirmative action puts other people in your place.
If you think about it, the state university system in of itself, is state "interference" in the private market. Are you suggesting that we get rid of U. Mass? A free market only version of higher education would be an absolute disaster for this country limiting access for hundreds of thousands of students and killing the economy in the process. Put away your resentment and hated for two seconds and think about the implications of your words.
Giermund - I'm talking mostly about the effect of the federal government supplying loans, with no restrictions on tuition and or price fixing at private colleges. Every one is $50 grand? Only because they can keep raising their tuitions. Spare me the 'hater' accusations, it is of course not fair for someone to work hard all their life and because of that to be punished by being stripped of their savings by these overpriced institutions. I don't have a problem with tax dollars going towards state colleges, but it is obvious to me that U.S. citizens from other states are more deserving of in-state tuition than people that have broken the law.
GREAT! Now when is the Globe going to suggest that we should vote for a referendum to increase the state income tax and state sales taxes? Or maybe Deval will just raise them without a refendum.
And that's what you get when you vote for Democrats. More FREE STUFF! "Fiscal Cliff"? Balanced budgets? That's for someone else to be concerned about.
Yeah, I didn't understand all the outrage at Romney over the "gifts" comment. It is demonstrably true. Get yourself a big enough voting block and you can get free stuff. This in-state tuition actually goes a step further, rewarding law-breakers. I thought part of the draw of the United States was that we HAVE the rule of law? How ironic that illegals come here and destroy part of what brought them here in the first place. In Mexico, you get pulled over by a cop and you'd better 'accidentally' drop 50 bucks. The same thing happens here with our politicians, just not as blatantly (or honestly).
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Come on all you lefties, this is what you wanted, right? Tell me, their parents are illegal, therefore the chances are better than not that they are working under the table. Their reported income is nill. The kids are all paying less than you and me, what a country.
At least with a solid education the kids will be working and contributing to society and not on the public dole, right?
In your left wing wrong is right world I guess.
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A citizen or legal alien whose parents work in Massachusetts but live in NH, VT, RI, CT or NY have to pay out of state tuition. But an illegal gets a better break? Where is the "social justice" in that? I guess Patrick is really hoping for that cabinet post.
The rule is, you need to live in Massachusetts to go to school in Massachusetts. So, move to our state. It will be a better commute, and you can save gas and travel time. People who live in MA, legal or illegal, are paying property tax (through rent), gas tax, sales tax, and most likely state income tax. If they are using a fake ss number, then they are paying income taxes, but they don't receive any benefit like unemployment insurance, Medicare or social security. All their taxes, go to the govenment, and they dont see it. Minimum wage is lower then it was in the 1960's if you adjust for inflation. It should be over 10.00. Illegals are the ones being exploited to the benefit of their employers (corporations). However, we pay for that in other ways. Most social problems stem from lack of education. For example, if a young woman can afford to go to college, she is more likely to put off having children until she can afford to take care of it. She is also probably going to have less children. Without going into the entire argument, and an entirely new article, jut know that more we educate, the less unwanted children, the less crime, the less we pay the prison system. ( plus, society will be happier and safer). Choice Pay for education. Or pay for prisons. We need to stop exploiting foreign workers and reform the immigration policy. For a good quick read about Immigration I recommend this book. THEY TAKE OUR JOBS! AND 20 OTHER MYTHS ABOUT IMMIGRATION by Aviva Chompsky. http://www.amazon.com/They-Take-Our-Jobs-Immigration/dp/0807041564 You can borrow it from the library.
Carafram does not address the issue. The are here illegally and the governor wants to reward them. No one complained about jobs being taken etc..
People from out of state pay payroll taxes in MA as well as gas taxes, tolls and maybe even the tax on lunch.why do we charge anyone? If you want just go, no money, no english, no grades, so what, its free.
Actually college should be free. If you make good grades you get to stay. (Or the government continues to pay). That's the deal in many places around the world including Russia, England, Canada, Germany, Brazil etc. A reduced rate for in-state children of undocumented workers makes the most sense because these are the people with the highest chance of living their entire lives in Massachusetts. We want them educated and productive rather than unemployed and in need of constant public assistance.
Absolutely shamefull! Take care of the legal residents first, stop screwing us. Is there a group that will take up this issue and do something in the courts to block it? There are groups throughout the country fighting for more handouts yet there is no group fighting for common sense. Maybe all of these screwballs talking about a second revolution are right.
I say we get a ballot initiative together for term limits in Ma and the Federal government.
You'll notice that Obama passed the "illegals can have a special work permit" without going through Congress (would never pass, U.S. citizens are against it) and Mini-Me does the same with the in-state tuition, for the same reason, it would never pass.
Would have been nice if the governor explained his rationale, or the column mentioned it.
The rationale is that it will get votes from the "college should be free" and "illegal immigrants" are good for the country left wingers.
Any surprise this shoe dropped not long AFTER the election? Don't want to make Warren talk about her pro-illegal position on this. If put to a vote, this would never pass.
The ( law obeying ) middle class continues to get HAMMERED!
Your headline is misleading. Once these kids gets deferred action status, they are no longer illegal. They are here legally, with work authorization. They still don't have a full path to citizenship. That requires the passage of the Dream Act.
Yes, rewarding illegal behavior. There parents broke into the toy store with them and we hand them a big gift bag. The parent's still broke the law, you could probably convince me on the children, but why don't we deport the parents? If my kid went to the police station, parked a stolen car out front and said a parent stole it, the cops would follow the lead and arrest the parent. Why doesn't that happen here?
Total crap. There is no such thing as earning you way the right way anymore.
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This is wrong. I'm all for immigration reform, for getting the 11 million illegals on the road to being legal, but until that happens, these people aren't legal immigrants and should not be given breaks that are paid for by taxpayers... Everything costs something! WTH!
Just an addendum... the majority of illegal immigrants are working... get 'em legal and have 'em pay taxes before they get the breaks.
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The children of "illegals" have no control over their geographic home. Arriving here at age two, for instance, attending local schools and then being charged an out of state tuition price at state colleges is outrageous. Their parents have been paying taxes in Massachusetts for years just like everyone else. No one seemed to complain when they attended public schools. A state school is a public school. There are U.S. citizens with vacation homes in states where they claim residency for state college tuition reductions in order to beat the system.
The illegal immigrant parents are paying taxes like everyone else?
Just how is that possible? You are supposed to have a Social Security number in order for your taxes to be withheld..and since, as illegals, they can't have a legitimate social security card, how are any taxes being withheld/paid?
Thank you for mentioning the Parents, who we all agree DID commit a crime as adults. Why are they not jailed / deported when their children claim this status?
Quick quiz...Will this increase or decrease MA illegal alien population? Time yet again for Ma taxpayers to pull out the checkbook book. Hey Deval can we stop the great MA social giveaway now? I'm out of money.
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Deval...does it make sense to ask illegals to pay full freight when they sign up for classes in criminal justice? Seems the least we should ask since they are breaking the law by just being here?
Just another instance of what happens with "one party" rule in this State. Whatever the dictator wants, the dictator gets. No vote, no discussion...bang, it is done. This is a sorry State, and it will only get worse without any viable oppostion. It is disgusting...Deval.. you are an embarrassment to all the people in this State who live by the rules...and I don't mean "your rules".