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'We’re not asking for a handout': Arizona Dreamers a step closer to getting in-state tuition

With about 70% of the votes in, Arizonas favor Prop 308.

PHOENIX — Undocumented students are a step closer to qualifying for in-state tuition in Arizona, as midterm election results on Tuesday so far favor Prop 308.

With about 70% of the votes in Wednesday night, just over half of voters have approved the measure that would allow all students, regardless of their immigration status, to be granted state-funded aid like grants and scholarships.

RELATED: Arizona election results: Ballot propositions 130 209, 211 pass; 128 Legislature initiative rejected

Dreamers and students with no immigration status would qualify if they attended an Arizona high school for at least two years and graduated from a public, private, or homeschool in the state.

Currently, out-of-state students pay three times more than a resident for one credit hour at community colleges and 150% more at public universities.

“We’re not asking for a handout,” said Reyna Montoya, founder and CEO of Aliento. “We’re just asking for an opportunity to pay our way to college and to give back to our community.”

According to Aliento, a non-profit organization that helps undocumented people in Arizona, Prop 308 will help reach Arizona’s goal of 60% of the working population having post-secondary education by 2030.

It is estimated that the average person with a bachelor’s degree pays $381,000 more in taxes over their lifetime than those with only a high school education.  

Opponents argue the measure would take away benefits from students who are U.S. citizens and add this is an immigration issue that is best left for Congress to settle.

Similar measures that offer in-state tuition for Dreamers are already in place in 19 other states, including Utah, Colorado, Nevada, and Texas.

“It would be a transformation, historical change,” Montoya said. “[Arizona] hasn’t had any pro-immigrant policies in over 30 years. This, it’s been four years in the making, having to face a lot of barriers to get it this far.”

Long journey

It’s been a long journey for those fighting to ensure all students, regardless of their immigration status, receive in-state tuition in Arizona.

In 2006, Prop 300 was passed into law, blocking undocumented students from receiving in-state tuition and financial aid.

Since then, students, educators, community leaders, and activists like Reyna Montoya have been pushing for the law to change.

On February 1, 2021, Republican State Sen. Paul Boyer introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 1044, which would refer the measure to the ballot. The measure passed the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives with bipartisan support in March and May.

By the numbers

More than 610,000 individuals make up the current DACA population in the United States, 23,000 of those living in Arizona, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Currently, there are nearly 37,000 DACA-eligible undocumented residents in Arizona, with a total spending power estimated at $618 million, according to the New American Economy, formerly known as the American Immigration Council.

According to the group’s research, if all Arizona high school graduates had access to in-state tuition, more than 3,600 Arizona students would benefit from this measure.

They also found that earning a college degree by paying in-state tuition would boost the earnings of Arizona’s Dreamers by more than $28 million annually, increasing their spending power by more than $23 million annually.

Granting access to in-state tuition for all students would help Arizona meet critical workforce needs and help raise an additional $4.9 million per year in federal income taxes and state and local taxes, the New American Economy research found.

Decision 2022

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