Arizona Businesses Push Dreamer In-State Tuition to Boost Talent

Arizona voters will decide the only immigration measure on the state’s ballot in the midterm elections when they weigh in on restoring in-state tuition for undocumented students.

Proposition 308, on the ballot Tuesday, would allow any graduate who attended Arizona high school for two years, regardless of immigration status, to be eligible for state financial aid and in-state tuition prices at public colleges. A win for the campaign would reverse a 2006 ballot initiative passed overwhelmingly by Arizona voters.

The measure is backed by a broad coalition of immigration advocates and business leaders, which has made the case that allowing those students to pay the same tuition as their peers would restore fairness and address long-term talent needs in the state.

Opponents argue providing in-state tuition incentivizes unauthorized immigration.

Should voters approve the ballot initiative, which supporters say has bipartisan support, Arizona would join more than 20 other states and the District of Columbia that currently allow undocumented students to pay in-state college tuition prices. The campaign is one way states can pursue stopgap immigration measures even as federal legislative action appears unlikely.

“I have a sense we’re going to see more and more states try to find creative solutions for folks who are really in legal limbo right now,” said Leani García Torres, deputy director of state and local initiatives at the American Immigration Council.

Culture Shift

The energy behind the ballot initiative reflects demographic changes driven by the fast-growing, more diverse population of Arizona, said Sintra Hoffman, president and CEO of Westmarc, which promotes economic development in Phoenix’s West Valley. The corporate footprint in Arizona has also expanded in recent years, she said.

“We’re getting industrial companies, manufacturing companies, tech companies. If we don’t have college grads ready to fill those jobs, we’re going to be in trouble,” Hoffman said. “Dreamers are definitely a part of that pipeline.”

Arizona’s business community also has embraced Proposition 308 as an issue of fairness for Dreamers who grew up in the state, said Neil Giuliano, president and CEO of Greater Phoenix Leadership, which represents 150 executives of the largest companies in the state.

“The culture has shifted from 16 years ago when voters took away in-state tuition for this group of students,” he said. “It’s important for us to recognize that they are Arizonans.”

Retaining Talent

Business groups and immigration advocates have sought to win broad support for Proposition 308 by arguing that restoring in-state tuition to roughly 3,600 Dreamers each year would help address Arizona’s long-term workforce needs. Requiring those students to pay thousands more in tuition than their classmates at Arizona’s state colleges removes the incentive to keep the best students from attending schools outside of the state.

“We want to retain talent in the state,” Giuliano said. “Within the business community, we’re looking at growing demand for workers at all levels.”

If undocumented students earn college degrees, it would translate to $23 million in additional spending power each year and $4.9 million in federal, state, and local taxes paid, the American Immigration Council estimated. But steep tuition prices create additional barriers for students already facing pressures over their immigration status.

“Federal aid isn’t an option for us. Tripling the amount for tuition makes it even harder,” said Hazell Villatoro, a 17-year-old undocumented freshman at Grand Canyon University.

Villatoro, who is studying to become an anesthesiologist, was able to secure a full scholarship to Grand Canyon, a private, for-profit university in Phoenix. But the availability of in-state tuition would drastically reduce the cost of pursuing a graduate degree, she said.

First Step

Although a Republican introduced the measure that the legislature eventually approved for inclusion on the ballot, only a minority of GOP lawmakers voted to support Proposition 308.

Congress, not Arizona voters, should decide issues involving immigration, state Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, a Republican who opposes the measure, wrote in The Arizona Republic. A yes vote, she said, could “could further incentivize unlawful entry into Arizona.”

Supporters of the campaign to pass Proposition 308 acknowledge that the ballot measure would be only a first step toward providing real security for undocumented people who have been part of US communities for years. Carlos Alfaro, Arizona state director for the American Business Immigration Coalition, said federal lawmakers must ultimately must provide long-term stability, including legal work authorization, for those students after graduation.

“Congress has to do a lot more for these students,” Alfaro said. “This is something Arizonans can do now so they get a fair shake when they go to college.”