Figuring out how to pay for college is already enough of a worry for young people all across the country. Now after a ruling from the Arizona Supreme Court eliminating in-state tuition rates for Arizona-raised Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients at the state's colleges and universities, immigrant youth like Gilbert Olmos, an aspiring nursing student at South Mountain Community College, could see their tuition rates triple:
With his DACA status, Olmos qualified for in-state tuition. But just days after the ruling, he received an email from his school saying his tuition rate might change. In-state tuition is $86 per credit hour at Maricopa Community Colleges. Out-of-state it's $327 per credit hour. For Olmos, this means his cost per semester will jump from a little more than $1,000 a semester to the out-of-state rate of more than $5,000.
"I fell apart as soon as I heard it," said Olmos, 19, who is pursing an associate's degree in applied science at South Mountain in Phoenix.
"These are wonderful people and some of our best and most hard working students," said Matthew Hasson, a spokesperson for Maricopa Community Colleges. "We are working tirelessly to find some way to help them because we don't want them to leave. At the same time, we know we have to comply with the court ruling." Hasson told CNN that “he acknowledged the higher tuition rates could force students to drop out completely,” a reality Olmos may face:
"I'm a hard working student. I've been working retail jobs to pay my tuition myself," said Olmos, whose parents brought him to the United States from Mexico when he was a year-and-a-half old. "Realistically, with the new rates I might not be able to afford college."
If he does have to drop out, Olmos has a temporary backup plan. He's a certified phlebotomist, trained at drawing blood from patients. Olmos took the six-month course after graduating from high school.
"I would probably have to do this full-time until I figure things out with my education," he said.
Vasthy Lamadrid, a senior at Arizona State University “majoring in political science and pursuing a teaching certificate,” also has worries about her education and future career goals. In-state tuition at the school is nearly $11,000. Following the court decision, DACA recipients could see their tuition surge to the out-of-state rate of over $27,000. “I'm scared," she told CNN. "If my tuition rates jumps and I can't pay the out-of-state rate, I can't continue with my teaching certification program in the fall”:
Lamadrid said school administrators have said they want to help DACA students but she's aware that the school also has to comply with the ruling. She attended a meeting late Thursday with students and faculty where DACA students were told they should expect the new tuition rates to begin this summer.
Arizona State University did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Lamadrid said she knows many other DACA students at Arizona State who have plans for postgraduate and other advanced degrees. "This ruling will put a halt to these goals," she said. "Some have already been accepted into those programs. Now they don't know what to do."
With as many as 2,000 DACA recipients in the state standing to be affected—and DACA recipients ineligible for federal or state financial aid due to their immigration status—school leaders and advocates are urgently strategizing on their options. ASU president Michael Crow recently said that “the university is currently looking into all options to assist Arizona high school graduates who are qualified to be in the U.S. under DACA with an uninterrupted educational journey beyond high school.”
Of course, if the Republican-led Congress had actually passed permanent protections for undocumented immigrant youth on Donald Trump’s arbitrary deadline last month, these DACA recipients wouldn’t be in this position, of being treated as non-Arizonans despite growing up in their Arizona communities their entire lives. In the face of that inaction, though, other states and their leaders are making progress:
The New Jersey Assembly has ... approved legislation extending in-state tuition to immigrant youth. If Gov. Murphy signs the legislation (it’s already passed the Senate), New Jersey would join California, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Hawaii in helping immigrant youth access higher education.
“This not a political issue,” said Assemblyman Gary Schaer, a primary sponsor of the legislation, “but this is a statement of who we are and where we want to be as a state. If we look at it totally from a selfish perspective as a state, this will help from them going to and graduating college, becoming taxpayers, and aiding in helping grow the New Jersey economy.”
And, helping young Americans-in-waiting achieve their dreams. “I wasn’t sure which way it was going to go,” said Madelyne Montes-Reyes, a young immigrant who said she had to take a break from college because she couldn’t afford the tuition. “It was just very emotional. It’s great to see we do have support.”
