DOJ Challenges Arizona’s Tuition Policy for Dreamers
The United States Department of Justice has initiated legal proceedings against Arizona and other states for permitting noncitizen students, often referred to as “Dreamers,” to benefit from in-state college tuition rates.
Arizona’s Proposition 308, passed in 2022, enables students without citizenship to pay in-state tuition provided they have attended an Arizona school for at least two years and have graduated from a high school within the state.
The Department of Justice argues that this tuition policy discriminates against U.S. citizens from other states, as it offers financial aid and tuition benefits to “illegal aliens” that are not available to all citizens, according to a statement by the DOJ.
Aliento, the organization behind Proposition 308, remains optimistic about the policy’s future, encouraging Dreamers to continue pursuing their education in Arizona despite the lawsuit.
The DOJ’s legal filings in federal court contend that the policy contravenes a 1998 federal law. It also breaches an executive order issued by former President Trump, which mandates action against states providing benefits to aliens that are not extended to all U.S. citizens. The order specifically targets state laws offering in-state tuition to aliens while excluding out-of-state American citizens.
Assistant Attorney General Garrett Greene noted that similar lawsuits have been launched against over a dozen states, with judges nullifying such policies in five states.
The lawsuit targets not only the Board of Regents, which governs the tuition policies at Arizona’s three state universities, but also seeks to invalidate Proposition 308. The federal attorneys argue that overturning the proposition would assert the supremacy of federal immigration laws, thereby impacting policies at Maricopa and Pima community colleges that currently offer financial aid based on Arizona high school graduation rather than immigration status.
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