Two prominent Arizona politicians are in disagreement over the state's controversial tuition law for undocumented students. Attorney General Kris Mayes says Proposition 308 is legal and should stay, whereas Congressman Andy Biggs calls it a "taxpayer giveaway" that needs to go.
The conflict intensified following President Trump's immigration executive order in April, which directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to challenge any state practices that provide benefits to undocumented immigrants unavailable to all American citizens.
The order targets explicitly "state laws that provide in-state higher education tuition to aliens but not to out-of-state American citizens."
"Everyone should know Proposition 308, which gave in-state tuition to illegal aliens in Arizona, was a terrible policy from the start," Andy Biggs stated. "I've always stood with President Trump and opposed this taxpayer giveaway."
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has issued a legal opinion defending the state's position, arguing that Proposition 308 does not violate federal law.
Regardless of their immigration status, certain students who completed Arizona high schools are eligible to pay in-state tuition rates at colleges and universities under the ballot initiative, which passed by a small percentage of 51.2% to 48.8% in 2022.
Mayes expresses that the specific wording of Proposition 308 is significantly different from policies that have faced successful federal challenges in states like Texas, Kentucky, and Minnesota. This distinction will help Arizona's law withstand any potential Trump administration legal action, as she notes.
When voters were considering the proposition, supporters estimated that more than 3,600 students would benefit from the lower tuition rates.
The American Immigration Council projected that college-educated recipients would generate an additional $4.9 million annually in federal, state, and local taxes through better employment opportunities.
The current policy stems from years of legal battles dating back to the Obama administration's creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2012.
Initially, Arizona's community colleges and university system allowed DACA recipients to pay in-state tuition rates. However, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that this violated Proposition 300, a 2006 ballot measure that denied various public benefits to those in the country undocumented.
The legal status of DACA recipients remains complicated. While a federal appeals court declared significant portions of the program unlawful in January, the court agreed not to enforce immigration laws against current recipients, leaving thousands of students in legal limbo.
Arizona high school graduates are able to receive in-state tuition regardless of their immigration status due to Proposition 308, which was created specifically to make an exception to the previous restrictions. The Trump administration's stricter stance on state-level immigration benefits, nonetheless, has left the policy under ongoing review.
