Public College In Arizona Breaks With Governor, Offers In-State Tuition To Undocumented Immigrants

[cynatnite]

At least one public college in Arizona is prepared to offer young undocumented immigrants who successfully applied for work permits under President Obama’s new deferred-action program the lower in-state tuition rate, a significant break for as many as 80,000 students eligible in the state.

Officials from the 10 campus-Maricopa Community Colleges determined that work permits fulfill their requirement that students provide proof of legal residency in Arizona. According to spokesman Tom Gariepy, a legal review determined that federally-issued work permits are already on a state-approved list of documents that are accepted by the Arizona Board of Regents as proof of residency.

The move by the Maricopa Community Colleges is in direct opposition to Governor Jan Brewer’s (R) firm anti-immigrant policies. On the same day that immigrants began applying for work permits through the federal government, Brewer issued an executive order forbidding state agencies from providing any new benefits to deferred action recipients, including in-state tuition.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/09/13/842071/public-college-in-arizona-breaks-with-governor-brewers-ban-on-in-state-tuition-for-undocumented-immigrants/

[elleng]

1. Will send THEM some bucks.

(after election, of course!)

[jwirr]

2. Colleges need the money to survive and AZ seems to think their economy is separate from facts.