PHOENIX — Arizona State University's fund-raising arm announced a $937,000 grant Tuesday from the Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation to help put 35 undocumented students through school over the next three years.
"By no fault of their own, Dreamers are starting their pursuit of higher education at a great disadvantage," Bob Parsons, the billionaire founder of GoDaddy, said in a prepared statement.
"America is a nation of immigrants, and it is our duty to step up and support those who are working hard to earn a better life for themselves and their families, no matter how they got here."
Tuition for young undocumented immigrants who grew up in Arizona has become a legal and political football in recent years.
In June 2017, a ruling by Arizona Supreme Court ended the state's universities' policy of allowing in-state tuition for DACA recipients - young undocumented immigrants shielded from deportation by the federal deferred action program.
The Arizona Board of Regents responded last year by approving tuition that is 150% of in-state tuition - higher than the $10,000 for in-state students but much lower than the $28,000 for out-of-state students.
The new Parson Scholars program will cover the cost beyond in-state tuition, and provide financial literacy training and academic coaching.
Meantime, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this spring on President Trump's decision to end the Obama-era DACA program.
Many undocumented immigrants heading to college are either too young for the DACA program or can't apply, because the Trump Administration is allowing renewals only, pending the Supreme Court decision.
Undocumented immigrants - known collectively as Dreamers, whether they have DACA protections or not - are unable to benefit from university or federal aid or work-study programs.
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