I’m writing with good news for DREAMers in Massachusetts. But our excitement over state-level developments needs to be joined with persistent efforts to achieve justice at the federal level.
Last week, Massachusetts joined California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, and Washington in providing in-state tuition to undocumented students. Governor Deval Patrick’s order to the State Board of Higher Education came just two weeks after Maryland passed a referendum approving its tuition equity bill, known as the Maryland DREAM Act. These states have taken great strides to increase the accessibility of their public universities for undocumented students who might not otherwise be able to continue their education.
With your help, LIRS has consistently supported state and federal efforts to expand educational opportunities for undocumented immigrants, such as the Maryland DREAM Act and the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. These initiatives are vital steps in improving the ways in which America welcomes immigrants, but more work is needed to ensure the passage of fair and humane immigration reform and the federal DREAM Act.
So the rest of the news is this: We still need to work together to ensure that state-level gains are translated into national success. Please join us in applauding Governor Patrick’s action, and visit our Action Center today to tell your federal legislators to support compassionate immigration reform!