The head of the Maricopa County Community College District said he hopes that a ruling allowing in-state tuition for “dreamers” will lead to more young immigrants attending the colleges.
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that undocumented students who have work visas under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are allowed to pay the lower tuition rate.
The deferred-action program, launched by President Barack Obama in 2012, is intended to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as minors from deportation if they meet certain criteria. Those approved can remain in the country for two years and receive federal work permits.
The ruling caps a 2-year-old lawsuit filed by then-state Attorney General Tom Horne. He sued the community-college district, arguing the students were not lawfully in the country and that the tuition policy violated a law enacted by voters in 2006 that banned public benefits to undocumented immigrants.
On Tuesday, Judge Arthur Anderson ruled the Arizona law doesn’t bar benefits to immigrants lawfully in the country, and that under federal law, the DACA students are lawfully present.
“Federal law, not state law, determines who is lawfully present in the U.S. … The circumstance under which a person enters the U.S. does not determine that person’s lawful presence here,” the ruling says.
Maricopa County’s 10 community colleges charge $84 per credit for in-state tuition, compared with $325 per credit for out-of-state tuition.
In years past, undocumented students had been able to attend community-college classes for $91 per credit as long as they took six or fewer credits per semester under a program originally intended for snowbirds. In 2012, the district’s governing board ended that program and began charging the full out-of-state tuition rate.
Chancellor Rufus Glasper said enrollment dropped by 15,000 students after that.
In 2013, students with DACA waivers were charged the in-state rate.
About 1,200 students with the waivers are enrolled, and the ruling will ease the way for the colleges to start recruiting more, Glasper said.
“We really appreciate the affirmation of the actions that we’ve taken, that it was the right thing to do,” he said Tuesday.
“Nothing is changing, but it provides another level of comfort and we can start a more enhanced recruitment program targeted at those students,” he said.
“It’s very difficult to put your efforts behind something and encourage students to come, not knowing what the outcome will be.”
Kristen Keough, spokeswoman for state Attorney General Mark Brnovich, released this statement Tuesday night: “No one is more sympathetic to the cause of immigration than General Brnovich, but the law is the law.
“General Brnovich believes he has an obligation to respect the will of Arizona voters. Our office is currently reviewing the decision and weighing all legal options including appeal.”
The Arizona Board of Regents has taken an opposite approach from the Maricopa County community colleges. Dreamers are charged out-of-state tuition at the state’s three universities, which can be more than twice what in-state students pay.
Regents President Eileen Klein said Tuesday she expects to schedule a regents meeting soon to discuss the ruling. The regents are not a party in the lawsuit.
“We respect the court’s decision around Maricopa Community College students, and we want to now read that court decision and figure out what it means for Arizona universities. … We are going to move very quickly,” Klein said.
She added that the regents will comply with state and federal law.
Carmen Cornejo, an activist for undocumented students who protested against Horne’s lawsuit last year, said the ruling will open a lot of doors for the dreamers.
“We have dreamer entrepreneurs, writers, journalists, you name it. We have a range of talent that will only be increased if the doors are open for them.”
Republic reporter Anne Ryman contributed to this article.
The bitch with the “tuition Equality 100%” sign – would it be ‘fair’ to say she only seeks equality in ways that benefit her.
What? Dreamers can get in state tuition in Arizona?
Well hey, I’m an AMERICAN Dreamer? Does that count?
No, of course not….
Hang the treasonous bastards and deport all illegals! Make their “Dream” a “Nightmare”. Plain and simple.