BOSTON — Are you a U.S. citizen who lives in, say, New Hampshire, Florida, or Texas — and you’re thinking about attending college in Massachusetts?

Tough luck. You’ll be paying out-of-state tuition.

But if you’re in the country illegally and went to high school in Massachusetts for three years? You qualify for in-state tuition and taxpayer-funded financial aid.

Welcome to Massachusetts — where being an American citizen doesn’t necessarily get you the best deal.

That’s not a joke. It’s spelled out on the official website of Bunker Hill Community College, one of dozens of publicly funded schools across the Commonwealth. A policy quietly adopted by the state in 2023 makes illegal immigrants eligible for the same discounted tuition and financial aid as legal Massachusetts residents, as long as they meet the basic high school requirement.

“Non-U.S. Citizens who are undocumented may qualify for In-State Tuition and State Financial Aid,” the BHCC website reads.

In other words: Citizens from other U.S. states pay full freight. Illegal immigrants don’t.

The rule applies across the state system, including UMass, state universities, and community colleges.

Three years in a Massachusetts high school is all it takes

Under current policy, illegal immigrants become eligible if they:

• Attended a Massachusetts high school for three years, and
• Earned a diploma or GED in the state

That’s it. No proof of legal status, no green card, no Social Security number. But hey — free state money and discounted tuition are on the table.

Taxpayer cash flows — citizens last

The policy was authorized under the 2023 state budget, signed by Gov. Maura Healey, a proud champion of sanctuary-state policies. Critics say it reflects a growing trend of Massachusetts prioritizing illegal immigrants over its own citizens — and even over legal residents of other U.S. states.

“This is insane,” said one Boston-area parent whose daughter is attending college out of state. “We played by the rules. Meanwhile, someone here illegally gets a better deal than a citizen from New Hampshire? That’s not progressive — that’s backwards.”

Others point out the rising cost of public college tuition and ask why Massachusetts residents are being forced to subsidize non-citizens while many working families can’t afford to send their kids to school at all.

This isn’t equity — it’s insanity

Supporters of the policy frame it as a matter of educational access and inclusion. But to many taxpayers, it reads more like a slap in the face — especially when legal U.S. citizens from outside Massachusetts get nothing but a bigger bill.

And in a state where Boston’s public schools are failing, crime is up, and housing costs are sky-high, shoveling more public funds into benefits for illegals may not be the winning strategy Beacon Hill thinks it is.