ASU Students Protest Lawsuit Against In-State Tuition For DACA Recipients

October 27, 2017
Matthew Casey/KJZZ
ASU students and supporters march across University Bridge in 2017 during a protest calling on Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich to drop a lawsuit that would end in-state tuition for DACA recipients.

A group of Arizona State University students has a bone to pick with Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. 

About 100 people marched through ASU’s Tempe campus, protesting against the state’s lawsuit to deny DACA recipients in-state tuition.

The group Undocumented Students for Education Equity, or USEE, organized the event that called on Brnovich to drop the lawsuit.

Brnovich should get to know DACA students, said Estefania Gomez Ruiz, a USEE member and DACA recipient. Gomez Ruiz recently transferred to ASU and wants to study science or math.

“We want to achieve our dreams, but we’re also going to give so much back,” Gomez Ruiz said. “We’re not here to just take. We want to give back.”

The lawsuit, filed days after the Trump administration announced it will phase out the DACA program, said giving DACA recipients in-state tuition could trigger a federal law and end the state’s ability to charge out-of-state students a higher rate.

If that happens, the suit said Arizona’s three public universities would have to slash services, or hike in-state tuition.