How advocacy group is responding to federal lawsuit over Arizona in-state tuition for 'Dreamers'

The U.S. Justice Department has sued Arizona over a voter-approved law that allows "Dreamers" — people brought to this country as young children — to get in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.

Under Proposition 308, which Arizona voters approved in 2022, undocumented students are eligible for in-state tuition if they’ve graduated from a high school in the state after having attended for at least two years.

In filing the complaint against Arizona and three other states, an assistant attorney general says: “This is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens. This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”

Reyna Montoya, founder and CEO of the group Aliento, which serves "Dreamers" and immigrant families, joined The Show to talk about it.

Full conversation

MARK BRODIE: Reyna, good morning.

REYNA MONTOYA: Good morning, Mark. Good to talk to you.

MARK BRODIE: Likewise. So, were you surprised that DOJ filed this lawsuit against Arizona and those other states?

REYNA MONTOYA: Sadly, I was not surprised, as they have been suing multiple states with these claims that are inaccurate and that Arizona law is completely consistent with federal law.

MARK BRODIE: Do we have a sense of how many students are getting in-state tuition at community colleges or the public universities who are in the Dreamer population?

REYNA MONTOYA: There are rough estimates about anywhere between 2,000 to 3,000 students, but we don’t have exact data, as that’s something that universities don’t ask for, immigration status.

MARK BRODIE: OK. So, we’re not talking, in the universe of university and college students, we’re not talking a huge number of students here?

REYNA MONTOYA: Not significantly.

MARK BRODIE: So, what have you heard from some of the folks with whom you work, maybe some of their students who are either getting in-state tuition or thinking about, maybe they’re in high school now and thinking about what they’re going to do next? Since this lawsuit was filed late last week, what have you heard from folks?

Diego Lozano

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Aliento

REYNA MONTOYA: Yes, definitely there’s a lot of confusion. Many of them, the first question was, "Can I still continue to go to my education? Can I still continue to pay in-state tuition?" So, definitely there was a lot of fear and a lot of confusion and discouragement from students. So, that’s been the majority of the questions that we’ve been asked.

And something that I always tell them is that a lawsuit doesn’t mean that the law has changed. So, it’s really critical for them to understand that they can still pay in-state tuition as of now.

MARK BRODIE: Are you concerned about a potential chilling effect that, for all the folks who reach out to you, that there are some number who don’t, who just see this and think, "Oh, well, I guess I can’t get in-state tuition anymore"?

REYNA MONTOYA: This is a new law for us. I mean, this was passed by Arizona voters in 2022. So, already there was some confusion whether they were able to apply or not. And with this, seeing that the administration is consistently trying to go after schools, after kids who are just trying to get an education, definitely is going to have an impact. So, that’s why it’s really critical that we’re having a conversation about this issue so students can continue their higher education.

MARK BRODIE: So, you mentioned that, at least in your interpretation, and I believe that of the attorney general of Arizona as well, that the state law, Prop. 308, is not inconsistent with federal law. Can you sort of give us a rundown of how that is?

REYNA MONTOYA: Yeah, a little bit of background is that in 1996, the federal government delegated the power to the states to identify the classification for in-state tuition for undocumented students, and Prop. 308 did that. It is consistent with federal law because, one, it is not basing technically having in-state tuition based on residency, and it’s affirming that undocumented students qualify for this. And Prop. 308 tackles those matters, so that’s why I believe it’s consistent with federal law.

The other thing that I think is a big misconception that I think is really trying to misinform a lot of voters across the United States is that this gives a leg up to undocumented students. That is inaccurate. Prop. 308 in-state tuition allows any student, as long as they meet those qualifiers that they have gone to a two-year here in an Arizona high school, they would be able to have in-state tuition.

So, in reality, any student that actually comes back regardless of their immigration status to Arizona, as long as they fit this criteria, they’re going to be able to get in-state tuition.

MARK BRODIE: So, you’re saying that U.S. citizens, for example, who attend an Arizona high school for two years, graduate from that high school, even if they’re not necessarily from here or spent their first two years in high school in Arizona, they would also still be eligible for in-state tuition?

REYNA MONTOYA: Correct. Let’s say that there’s a U.S. citizen whose parents moved to California because of employment, and they came back the junior year. So, as long as they qualify for those two years, they’re still going to be able to get in-state tuition as long as they meet that criteria.

MARK BRODIE: So, for your group, what do you do now? How do you try to defend against this lawsuit to the extent that you are involved in that?

REYNA MONTOYA: Yes, for now, I think our biggest priority is to ensure that students, counselors and educators know that Prop. 308 is still the law of the state of Arizona and that they’re able to give the proper orientation and the proper information to students.

So, for me, as I’m having this conversation with students, the best way that they can fight back is to get good grades and get an education, because that’s what this lawsuit is intending to do right in the meantime, is trying to confuse people and making sure that they don’t enroll to college.

On the other side, we are monitoring this lawsuit pretty closely. We’re going to continue not only to raise awareness, but weighing our possibilities about how we as an organization would be getting involved, as this deeply impacts not only the organization, but a lot of the students that we serve. We actually have a scholarship that supports students to go back to school.

MARK BRODIE: Obviously, this lawsuit is pretty new, but the Justice Department has filed suits against other states. And understanding that every state’s law is a little bit different and unique to itself, I’m wondering if you’ve been in touch with any of your folks who do the kind of work that you do in states that have already been sued by the Justice Department to sort of get a sense of maybe how those cases have proceeded, maybe get a sense of what to expect here?

REYNA MONTOYA: Definitely. We have been in conversations with a lot of our partners in higher education that have been impacted by this. And as you said, though, every state is a little bit different, so every law should be judged on its merits. And I have no doubt in my heart that Prop. 308 will continue to be the law of the state of Arizona.

MARK BRODIE: All right. That is Reyna Montoya, founder and CEO of the group Aliento. Reyna, thank you so much.

REYNA MONTOYA: Thank you so much, Mark.