One of those articles

Hi JIFM~

This is one of those articles that make me be a bit more thankful.

This came through today, i hope that you get a chance to read it and give your thoughts on this.
I couldn't imagine coming up with 9,000 + dollars a year, but the way things are going here.... who knows.

The battle continues.

Enjoy.

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MA: Support Lags on Immigrant Tuition Bill; Governor's Veto Seen Likely to StandThe Boston Globe, October 26, 2005

By Maria Cramer

State Representative Marie St. Fleur, the author of legislation that would charge some immigrant students lower in-state college tuition rates, said yesterday she is unsure there are enough votes in the House to override a likely gubernatorial veto.
Standing in front of hundreds of immigrant students and supporters of the bill inside the State House, St. Fleur said the bill faced strong opposition, disappointing those who hoped for an immediate vote.

"I'm a pragmatic person," she said later. "I can go up there and pretend and do the rah-rah, or I can tell people that there is still work to be done."

Immigrants without permanent residency status or US citizenship must pay a higher out-of-state tuition. The bill would grant lower tuition rates at state colleges and universities to immigrants who have lived in Massachusetts for at least three years and graduated from a high school in the state.

For instance, at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, an undergraduate pays an in-state tuition of $9,278 a year and an out-of-state tuition of $18,397.
The legislation, which would benefit about 400 students a year, was approved by the House Ways and Means Committee. But Governor Mitt Romney has vowed a veto if it passes.

After the rally, St. Fleur, a Dorchester Democrat, said in an interview that she still believes supporters of the bill can drum up the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto.

"I think we still have to work at it in all honesty," she said. "I don't try to give people false information. We don't have the level of comfort that we would like to have."

Romney vetoed similar legislation in June 2004 after the Legislature approved it. Fearing political fallout, legislators chose not to override the veto in August 2004, according to some lawmakers and advocates. Romney has objected to the legislation, saying it would give benefits to people who are in the country illegally.

This year, advocates of the legislation want to be sure they have enough votes to override any potential veto before the bill arrives on Romney's desk, St. Fleur said. They need the support of at least 107 legislators, she said.

"While we may be able to get this through the House, the objective has got to be a veto-proof majority," she said. "To get it through the House and not have the veto-proof margin is not a win."

Ali Noorani, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said he was not discouraged by St. Fleur's comments.

"It is reality," he said. "We need to educate the Legislature on this. As an organization and a community, we've worked across the state to change public opinion. Now it's a game of inside baseball."

Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.********************************