Activists say undocumented students in Arizona should be hopeful after Attorney General Kris Mayes said her office will defend a state law expanding access to in-state tuition.
Voters approved Prop. 308 in 2022. Under the law, any student who attends school in Arizona for at least two years and graduates from a high school in the state can get in-state tuition — regardless of immigration status.
But, the Trump administration’s Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the measure at the end of August, arguing it violates federal law and unconstitutionally discriminates against U.S. citizens.
It’s the latest in a string of similar legal challenges the Trump administration has filed following a 2025 executive order directing the Justice Department to take action against state laws that allegedly favor undocumented people.
The Department of Justice is going state-by-state and suing them,” said Jose Patiño, a DACA recipient and the vice president of education and external affairs at Phoenix-based immigrant advocacy group Aliento. “Some of them successfully, some of them not, and some of them pending.”
Patiñ says Arizona’s law is among the strongest and he believes it will be legally defensible under state law. He says undocumented students have told him the law made college seem like a real possibility. Now, they worry that could change again.
“It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, because a lot of students mentioned that part of the reason they were able to stay in college or even start is because prop 308 is the law,” Patiño said. “Those who are currently our juniors or seniors, and some of them who are currently in high school, like first year or second year, are just concerned that they won’t be able to continue their education.”
Patiño says his group is working to reassure students, schools and families that despite the suit, Prop. 308 is still the law right now.
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