Immigrants Storm Beacon Hill for More Benefits
       Although nowhere near the numbers seen in cities such as Los Angeles CA and Austin TX, Boston had its own version of demonstrating immigrants yesterday.
       “We have taken over the State House. Congratulations,” Ali Noorani executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition told an overflowing Gardner Auditorium crowd of more than 600 yesterday. “Now we get to go bother our elected officials.”
       All of the candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor were invited to speak to the assembly, however only Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick showed, and Lt. Gov. hopefuls Andrea Silbert and Dr. Sam Kelly.
       Deval Patrick, after railing against a roll back of income taxes promised, “And yes, we will have in-state tuition for (illegal) immigrants,” he added to cheers. The measure to grant in-state tuition rates for illegal aliens was defeated in the house 97-57 in January.
       Democrat Andrea Silbert, running for lieutenant governor, emphasized her travels to Africa and China, and her ability to speak Spanish and Portuguese. “I want to offer you a path to citizenship,” Silbert told the crowd.
       Dr. Sam Kelley, Democratic hopeful for lieutenant governor, stretched desperately in attempt to identify with the audience, noting that he had grown up on a chicken farm in Kentucky. “When I landed in Boston, it felt like landing on a different planet,” he said.
       Grace Ross, a Green Party/Rainbow candidate called for getting rid of the “illegal” distinction affixed to undocumented immigrants.
“The illegal [immigrant] system… essentially puts workers against each other,” she said.
       Other agenda items the group asked for was restoring MassHealth coverage to nearly 10,000 legal immigrants; increasing a budget line item for the Citizenship for New Americans Program by a factor of 10; an $8 million increase from $29 million in a line item for Adult Basic Education to help immigrants learn English and in-state tuition rates for illegal aliens.