Fronteras

Arizona’s Attorney General is appealing a court decision that allows young immigrants who qualify for an Obama administration program to pay the in-state tuition rate at the Maricopa Community Colleges.

This is the second case regarding the legal rights of young immigrants who came to the country illegally as children, commonly known as DREAMers, that Attorney General Mark Brnovich has taken on since he took office. Last month, he filed an appeal in a separate ruling that granted these young immigrants Arizona driver’s licenses.

Since 2012, the Maricopa County Community College District has allowed DREAMers to pay in-state tuition, as long as they qualified for work permits under the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Former Attorney General Tom Horne sued over the college district’s policy, arguing it violated a voter-approved law that denies in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants. But a Maricopa County Superior Court judge upheld the college district policy in May.  

Now Brnovich, who has since replaced Horne, is taking the case to the Arizona Court of Appeals.

“The filing is about defending the will of the Arizona voters,” said Ryan Anderson, the director of communications for the Attorney General’s office. “It is not about immigration. It is about Proposition 300 and when voters decided several years ago that they did not want to extend public benefits including in-state tuition to individuals who did not have legal status in the state.”

The judge on the other hand, found these students are lawfully present because of their status through DACA.

His ruling prompted the Arizona Board of Regents to allow in-state tuition for DACA students at state universities, as well.

EDITOR'S NOTE: KJZZ is licensed to Rio Salado College, which is part of the Maricopa County Community College District.