MACOMB COUNTY — Immigrants’ rights activists praised the vote to approve Tuition Equality by the Macomb Community College board of trustees. The new policy moves away from asking about immigration status and citizenship to a policy that uses address verification to designate a student as in-district or out-of-district. Students must demonstrate that their place of residence has been Macomb County for at least 60 days prior to registering for the semester.

“We were hearing stories of how students graduating from local high schools would only take one class at a time, because they were categorized as international students and the cost per credit hour was prohibitive,” said Adonis Flores, member of Michigan United. “Many talented young immigrants were at a standstill and we think this was unfair, since they were already paying property taxes.”

The Tuition Equality movement in Michigan began in July 2013 when the University Of Michigan Board Of Regents approved a change in policy that allows immigrants who graduated from Michigan high schools to pay in-state tuition.

“We are happy to state that Oakland and Henry Ford College have adopted inclusive policies,” said Miriam Cuevas of the Michigan Roundtable. “Macomb Community College is by far the broadest reaching policy by removing immigration status completely from their process.”