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More than 780,000 DREAMers have been allowed to stay in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program created under President Obama. Many worry about their future under President Trump.
USA TODAY
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DACA recipient Gerson Gonzalez came to the United States illegally when he was 15 years old to live with his father. Ten years later, he is still seeking a path to citizenship. Cheryl Evans/azcentral.com
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A quick lesson on Or Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
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Federal agents deported 23-year-old DREAMer, Juan Manuel Montes. He is the first protected immigrant to be deported back to Mexico.
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Belen Sisa is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient who posted on Facebook that she paid her taxes. Now people are reporting her to be deported.
Wochit
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Attorneys for Ramirez argue the arrest violates his constitutional rights.
Wochit
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Lawmakers fear Trump could use the information Dreamers provide on their DACA applications to deport them.
Video provided by Newsy
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Young conservative Drew Sexton and a DREAMer Belen Sisa debate immigration.
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How DREAMers get to stay in U.S.
Seeking a path to citizenship
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Arizona ‘dreamer’ Belen Sisa at the Democratic National Convention
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A young conservative and a DREAMer debate immigration
As the Maricopa County Community College District prepares to appeal a court ruling that prohibits students known as “dreamers” from receiving in-state tuition rates, college officials are warning students that the legal challenge could fail.
At a minimum, an appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court will likely buy students who were brought to U.S. illegally as children and now have work permits a semester or two at the lower tuition rate.
“Fill up your schedule with credits,” Maricopa Community Colleges Governing Board Member Dana Saar told students who packed a board meeting on Tuesday night.
Saar was among the board’s 4-3 majority who at the meeting voted to ask the state’s highest court to review the recent ruling by the Arizona Court of Appeals.
The state sued Maricopa Community Colleges in 2013 after district officials allowed students in the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to pay in-state tuition rates, which are much lower than non-resident rates.
DACA allows undocumented immigrants without serious criminal records who were illegally brought to U.S. as children to ask for temporary protection from deportation and renewable two-year work permits.
A Maricopa County judge sided with the colleges in 2015 but, last week, the state appellate court overturned that decision.
Students encouraged to plan for court loss
“We may lose again,” governing board member Alfredo Gutierrez told DACA students.
He added that a majority of the seven-member Arizona Supreme Court were appointed by Republican governors and may not be sympathetic to them. Six of the seven justices were appointed by either Gov. Doug Ducey or former Gov. Jan Brewer.
If the ruling isn’t overturned, DACA recipients would pay the non-resident tuition rate, which at the Maricopa colleges is $241 per credit hour vs. $86 per credit hour for in-state students. About 2,000 DACA students attend Maricopa Community Colleges.
Gutierrez encouraged students to make plans in the event the ruling stands.
“Just as we can win in the months ahead, we can lose,” he said.
His message seemed to resonate with students from the Valley and Tucson who filled the board’s meeting room, wearing T-shirts in support of protecting in-state tuition for DACA students. They handed out thank-you cards to the board and members of the audience.
Maria Del Socorro León Peña, a student at Paradise Valley Community College, wept and hugged other students after the board vote.
“There’s a huge possibility we will lose if it goes to the Supreme Court,” she said as tears slid down her cheeks. “But I have hope.”
A close vote
The board wasn’t unanimous in supporting the appeal. President Laurin Hendrix and members Tracy Livingston and Jean McGrath voted against appealing the ruling.
Hendrix, a former Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives, said he was representing the voters and taxpayers in his district.
McGrath said she has received a lot of feedback from people who live within her district.
“I cannot in good conscience permit taxpayer money to appeal a decision that is sure to fail,” she said.
Livingston cited Proposition 300, a 2006 law passed by 71 percent voters that prohibits giving in-state tuition rates to students without legal status.
“As much as this breaks my heart to say this, let’s keep in mind that (the law) did overwhelmingly pass,” she said.
The next steps for Maricopa college officials are to meet with attorneys and begin preparing the appeal to file within 30 days.
The Arizona Supreme Court could decide to review the ruling or let the state appellate court ruling stand.
Reach the reporter at [email protected].
READ MORE:
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Court overturns in-state tuition for ‘dreamers’
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