Arizona voters have officially approved Proposition 308, the historic measure opening in-state tuition rates to young undocumented immigrants who have called the state home. With more than 95% of the vote counted, the proposition was leading by more than 60,000 votes as of Tuesday morning.
In passing the measure, voters have overturned years-old policy that unfairly restricted young immigrants from in-state rates even if they’d grown up there. That proposition passed in 2006 with overwhelming support from voters. Arizona, once the anti-immigrant bastion of former Gov. Jan Brewer and disgraced former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, now joins at least 19 other states in offering in-state rates to undocumented students.
RELATED STORY: Obama urges Arizonans to vote yes on proposition opening in-state tuition rates to immigrant youth
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“The race was called by AZ Central,” immigrant youth-led organization Aliento declared in an email Monday evening. The organization, its leaders Reyna Montoya and Jose Patiño, and countless young interns and volunteers were critical in its passage, championing the measure through the conservative state legislature, then educating tens of thousands of Arizonans on its benefits.
Patiño told SiriusXM Progress guest host Joe Sudbay that it took four tries to get lawmakers to approve the proposal, finally winning in 2021. From there it would be up to the voters. Fifteen years after Arizonans effectively barred many young undocumented immigrants from higher education, polling showed allowing them to access the same tuition rate as their peers with majority support.
“This is a transformative change for immigrant youth all over the state of Arizona,” Aliento continued following the victory Monday evening, saying that the measure’s passage “showed that our state is a place of equal opportunity for all students regardless of immigration status.”
Organizers and aspiring students had been waiting on the edge of their seats for a call on the proposition. While the measure had maintained a slim but steady lead throughout the last few days, it had not been called even as U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly won his race against anti-immigrant creep Blake Masters on Friday, then Democrat Katie Hobbs’ victory over Big Lie pusher Kari Lake Monday. The Yes on 308 campaign had felt confident enough in the lead to declare victory that morning before votes from Maricopa and Pima counties solidified the win.
“We are so proud of all the hard work our fellows, interns, volunteers, & allies put into this campaign over the past four years," Aliento continued in the email. “In 2018, we launched our campaign for tuition equity for Dreamers. We know that hard work pays off and we have changed a lot of hearts & minds of Arizonans! These past few days have been nerve-racking for us, thank you for not giving up on us!” Erika Andiola, an undocumented leader in the state, tweeted the moment the Aliento team found out they'd won.
"Arizona voters passed Prop 300 in 2006, taking away in-state tuition and state funded scholarships for undocumented youth," she wrote in a thread. "I was a Sophomore at ASU. When implemented, I lost all the scholarships I had worked so hard to get and had to pay thousands more. Today that changes.”
Under the measure, more than 3,600 young people in the state could be eligible for the same in-state tuition rates as their peers. The measure will also be an economic boon, resulting in nearly $5 million in additional federal and state taxes annually. The measure will also have no impact on the state budget, which helped secure key support from state Republicans.
"Let me be clear, this #Prop308 win is a testament to the increasing support we have in AZ and across the country for Dreamers," Andiola continued. Fact check: True. Univision polling from shortly before the midterms found 64% support for a pathway to citizenship among Arizonans, and an overwhelming 82% among Latino Arizonans. Of Arizonans, 57% overall said they favored an approach that addressed a pathway to legalization and border security. “Our political leaders have not more excuses,” Andiola continued. “We need to push and pass federal legislation to permanently protect us before DACA is gone.”
Proposition 308’s victory is a continuation of the progressive victories won through years of hard work by Latino and Indigenous organizers in particular. Spurred in part by Brewer’s racist SB 1070 more than a decade ago, organizers’ resumé includes Arpaio’s defeat in 2016, the election of two Democratic senators for the first time in nearly 70 years, flipping the state blue for the first time in nearly 25 years and defeating Lake and Masters. In fact, America’s Voice points out that Proposition 308 won more votes than Masters. Never underestimate the power of young people.
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