Reilly backs immigrant tuition bill

Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said yesterday he will lobby Massachusetts legislators this week to pass a bill allowing the children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition, saying that ''all kids who graduate from Massachusetts high schools should be treated equally."

Reilly, himself the youngest child of Irish immigrants and now a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, said he can relate to the life struggles of immigrants.

''These kids are here through no fault of their own," Reilly said. ''They've graduated high school here. They will have to work and work hard. Nothing will be given to them. That's what America and Massachusetts are all about."

Reilly sought to contrast himself with the bill's most outspoken opponent, Governor Mitt Romney, who attended an elite prep school and grew up the son of the Michigan governor. Reilly's mother was a maid, and his father was a laborer. Reilly was the first in his family to attend college. His parents immigrated legally from Ireland.

''The governor's had a different life experience than I've had, and all they want is a chance," Reilly said. ''It's disgraceful to deny kids a chance to chase the American dream."

Romney's communications director, Eric Fehrnstrom, criticized Reilly in an e-mailed statement, saying that it was unusual for an attorney general to extend a helping hand to those who break laws.

''Of all people, the attorney general should know better than to overlook violations of the law," Fehrnstrom wrote. ''No matter how well intentioned, it is bad policy to extend state benefits to people who are in the country unlawfully. Let's put our efforts into helping immigrants who are here legally achieve the American Dream."

The bill, which Romney has vowed to veto, would allow the children of illegal immigrants living in Massachusetts the opportunity to pay the same tuition and fees as other children graduating from Bay State high schools. The in-state cost this year totals about $9,300; out-of-state tuition and fees are about $25,000.

While the measure has overwhelming support in the state Senate, its chances in the House are less certain. Supporters of the measure say they have a majority of House members, but it is unclear whether the bill would draw the two-thirds majority needed to override the governor's veto.

Reilly said he hopes his embrace of the bill will boost its chances with lawmakers.

State Representative Marie P. St. Fleur, a Haitian immigrant who has cosponsored the bill with Senator Jarrett T. Barrios, said the measure may come up for a vote this week, so Reilly's statements are well-timed.

''It's such a breath of fresh air that somebody remembers where he comes from," said St. Fleur, a Dorchester Democrat. ''I think the chief law enforcement officer in this state standing up to say this is the right thing to do is absolutely helpful. For those who hide behind the color of law, this just brings a whole other dimension to this conversation. I am very appreciative of his leadership in this effort."

Ali Noorani -- executive director for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, which is organizing grass-roots support for the bill -- said the measure would affect about 400 children of illegal immigrants annually.

''This is the biggest little issue out there," Noorani said.

Last year Romney sought to make the in-state tuition issue a major plank in the campaigns of more than 100 Republican legislative hopefuls who were taking on incumbent Democrats, but the issue never caught fire, and the Democrats retained their seats.

Reilly, by going public with his support for the tuition bill, gets a chance to tell potential voters his life story, how he grew up in a far-from-affluent family in Springfield.

Reilly's opponent for the Democratic Party's nomination, Deval Patrick of Milton, a former Clinton administration lawyer, grew up in a hardscrabble neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Patrick has also voiced support for the tuition bill.

In a letter he began sending to all Bay State lawmakers yesterday, Reilly promised to build the coalition of votes necessary to overcome a Romney veto.