An attorney for the Maricopa County Community Colleges is asking the Arizona Supreme Court to reject an appellate court ruling in which so-called Dreamers can no longer receive in state tuition.
In new legal papers, Mary O'Grady told the Supreme Court that the federal government considers DACA recipients to be “lawfully present," even if they have no legal immigration status.
She said that means there's nothing illegal about the Maricopa County Community College District allowing them to pay reduced tuition.
What the high court ultimately decides will govern not just the fate of more than 2,000 DACA recipients, O'Grady told the justices it will also determine if dreamers at the state's three universities and other community colleges can afford to continue to go to school if they have to pay triple what they are now being charged.
EDITOR'S NOTE: KJZZ is licensed to the Maricopa Community Colleges.