Public universities in Arizona say they will continue to allow in-state tuition for young immigrants who came to the United States at an early age despite a recent court decision that threw it in doubt.
The board of regents’ vote came late last month, a week after a state appeals court ruled that young immigrants granted deferred-deportation status under a program started by former President Barack Obama are not eligible for lower in-state college tuition. The court’s decision sets Arizona apart from other states around the country that are granting in-state tuition to immigrants in the country illegally.
After the regents acted, a former state legislator who was a driving force behind Arizona’s tough immigration laws sent a letter to the state attorney general that gives him 60 days to sue the regents before the legislator takes legal action himself.