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In reply to the discussion: Immigrants to Pay Tuition at Rate Set for Residents [View all]Xithras
(16,191 posts)Even illegal immigrants pay sales taxes and excise taxes, and they usually pay state income taxes as well.
The model is simple: As a resident of that state, your tax dollars help to fund the schools, so you get a lower in-state rate. Basically, it's the cost of your education, minus the portion paid for by your fellow taxpayers.
Out of state students don't come from families that have helped to support the schools. They aren't taxpayers in the state with the school, so they get to pay the full cost of their education out of pocket.
An illegal immigrant living in Massachusetts is paying taxes that are funding the university system, so their child gets to attend those schools at the lower in-state rate. A legal citizen living in Colorado is paying nothing to the state of Massachusetts and is not funding their universities at ALL, so their child has to pay the full rate.
On top of all that, you have the local preference thing. State schools primarily exist to improve the education of the people living in the areas they serve. Universities in Massachusetts, funded by Massachusetts taxpayers, exist primarily to improve the educational levels of people living in Massachusetts. A student from Colorado wanting to attend UMASS isn't their intended target, but an illegal Dominican living in Boston would be. Improving the educations of the people who live in a state directly benefits the state, which is why states fund them in the first place. The educational level of an illegal immigrant living in Boston has a direct impact on the quality of life and economy of the state of Massachusetts. The educational level of a citizen from Colorado doesn't.