MA Treasurer Statement Justifies Treatment of Immigrants

Treasurer Devalues Immigrants

BOSTON-- On Friday, State Treasurer Tim Cahill raised the ugly rhetorical justification for the state legislature's termination of healthcare coverage to 30,000 legal, tax-paying residents. Commenting on the legislature's decision to cut recent permanent residents and other immigrants from Commonwealth Care coverage, Cahill told the State House News Service that immigrants may be receiving the message, "Come to Massachusetts and we'll cover you." The subscription-only service went on to quote Cahill, "That's not really protecting our own citizens who have grown up here and spent their lives here and want to either raise a family or keep their family here, like I'm trying to do."



"This is an extremely offensive statement," said Eva Millona, Executive Director for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA). "It is contrary to the spirit of inclusion that the Commonwealth stands for. Such a high-ranking state official should know that Massachusetts is one of four states with an official Integration Agenda, which acknowledges immigrants' valuable contribution to our community and economy. As treasurer, in particular, he should treasure what immigrants offer."


Proof is presented by the recently released report "Massachusetts Immigrants by the Numbers: Demographic Characteristics and Economic Footprint," prepared for the Immigrant Learning Center in Malden by Alan-Clayton Matthews, Faye Karp, and Paul Watanabe. The report shows conclusively that the state's immigrant population "countervails the net out-migration from Massachusetts to other states" and offsets the aging of our native-born workforce. Indeed, immigrants represent a larger percentage of the workforce (17 percent) than they do of the general state population (14 percent). The report also shows that "immigrants pay into the state income tax system at a higher rate than their percentage of the population."


"Cahill should know that immigrants don't come here to claim benefits," Millona continued. "They come here to work and raise their children in one of the most inclusive states in the most inclusive nation in the world. Cahill may be raising his family here, but you have to wonder if he shares our Commonwealth's values."