Mass. College Creates Scholarship Fund For Illegal Immigrants

A small private liberal arts college in western Massachusetts has announced the establishment of a scholarship fund dedicated to helping illegal immigrants get degrees.

The scholarship will provide more than $25,000 each year to help an illegal immigrant pay for the $43,000-plus tuition at Hampshire College in Amherst. At current funding levels, the endowment will help support one student's studies at the college every four years, said college spokeswoman Elaine Thomas.

A professor was inspired to create the fund following a student's senior project on the Development, Relief, Education for Alien Minors act, which would allow some illegal immigrants to achieve U.S. citizenship by getting college degrees or by serving in the military. The legislation has yet to pass in Congress.

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