On January 11, the House of Representatives voted 97 to 57 to defeat House Bill 1230, which would have allowed children of undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at state colleges.

Although it was not the popular choice, I voted to support the bill. After much research, many conversations with colleagues, constituents, and interest groups, and some soul searching, I came to the conclusion that granting in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants would not only serve several hundred Massachusetts high school students, but the Commonwealth as well.

Despite some of the rhetoric that accompanied public debate on this bill, it was not a give-away to foreigners, rewarding their illegal immigrant status. The benefits proposed in the bill would only have been available to students who had completed at least 3 years of high school in the Commonwealth and earned a high school diploma. In addition, the bill stipulated that, to qualify for the in-state tuition rate, students must have submitted an application to become a citizen or permanent resident or, if they are unable to do so because they are under age 18, pledged to apply as soon as they are of age. In essence, then, this bill sought to provide the chance to attend college to students who have been in our high schools and are U.S. citizens-in-waiting.

I have long thought of investment in education as an investment both in individuals and in society as a whole. By investing in these youngsters, we are really investing in higher productivity and success rate in our communities. If they are here without documentation or illegally, it is because they came with parents looking to improve their lives. Yes, of course, the parents should have registered and followed proper procedures. However, as students in our schools and as future citizens, these students should not be penalized for the shortcomings and sins of their parents.

One of the misconceptions about this bill is that it would have cost the state money. In fact, according to a recent report from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (a generally conservative, business-sponsored research and lobbying group), the exact opposite is true. All students at our public colleges and universities pay a combination of tuition and fees, but the bill only proposed a break on tuition payments. Because the marginal cost of educating the several hundred students the bill would have covered is small and significantly less than the fees they would still have had to pay, the net gain to the state education system would be $2.5 million by 2009, according to the Foundation’s report.

But, in the end, I would not make an economic argument for my vote. I am the son of immigrant parents. I believe our nation and our Commonwealth are richer for the diversity that comes with open borders. Yes, we have the right to expect those coming to these shores to obey the law and to be held accountable when they fail to do so. But these youngsters were brought here in search of opportunity, have been in our schools, and seek to become contributing citizens. I am deeply disappointed that we failed to give them that chance.