Protesters ask for in-state tuition rates for undocumented U-M students

A campaign to grant in-state tuition rates for undocumented students at the University of Michigan is heating up.

About a hundred students wearing yellow shirts with red duct tape over their mouths staged a sit-in protest at U of M's Board of Regents meeting Thursday.

Meg Scrivner is with the Coalition for Tuition Equality, which organized the event.

She says the protesters represent 29,000 undocumented people in Michigan who have to pay out-of-state tuition, despite being residents.  "It’s not their fault that they’re undocumented.  Their parents pay taxes. There’s a myth that undocumented immigrants don’t pay taxes – they do.  Through sales tax…most of them pay income taxes."

A spokesman for the University of Michigan says a group representing students and the administration has met regularly throughout the fall semester to discuss the issue.

That group is now writing its report, which is expected in January.

- Chris Zollars, Michigan Radio Newsroom