Arizona voters to decide on financial aid for illegal immigrants
Arizona voters will decide whether to permit undocumented students to be eligible for financial aid this upcoming election.
The Proposition would reverse a 2006 decision to deny such eligibility.
Arizona voters will decide whether to permit undocumented students to be eligible for financial aid this upcoming election.
Proposition 308 would “allow Arizona students, regardless of immigration status, to be eligible for financial aid at state universities and community colleges,” the text reads.
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It would also permit undocumented students to receive in-state tuition. Eligible students would be required to have graduated from an Arizona high school or homeschool equivalent.
If approved, the measure would reverse a 2006 decision to disqualify undocumented students for in-state tuition, which was passed with 71.4% approval.
The cost for out-of-state tuition in Arizona is nearly 3x higher than in-state tuition.
According to the National Immigration Law Center, “At least twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have ‘tuition equity’ laws or policies” which qualify undocumented students to receive in-state tuition rates.
Lawmakers across the country have attempted to make college more affordable for non-citizens.
New Mexico Governor Lujan Grisham signed the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship Act this past spring, which covers tuition for undocumented students using COVID-19 funding. The program is projected to cost $75 million for the 2023 fiscal year.
Former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam permitted undocumented students to receive in-state tuition rates in June 2021.
Campus Reform contacted every organization listed for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
