The 2022 midterm elections had a lot of tight races – with candidates and ballot measures alike – and votes are still being counted.
One controversial ballot measure in Arizona is Proposition 308, a legislative initiative that would amend two sections of the Arizona Revised Statutes (Proposition 300), prohibiting students who are not U.S. citizens or do not have permanent residence from receiving in-state tuition, regardless of how long they have lived in Arizona.
If passed, Proposition 308 will reverse the effects of Proposition 300, granting in-state tuition at Arizona colleges or universities for students who have resided in Arizona for at least two years and have received a high school diploma or the equivalent. It will also allow students to apply for scholarships that require them to receive in-state tuition.
This proposition would benefit Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, who are also known DREAMers, immigrants that entered the U.S. while under the age of 16.
The proposition was proposed by Aliento, an organization based in downtown Phoenix that focuses on furthering opportunities and rights available to immigrants.
José Patiño, the vice president of education and external affairs at Aliento, wrote the bill in July 2018.
Community, educational impact of Proposition 308
Currently, Arizona DREAMers are paying 150% in tuition fees at Arizona universities and 300% at Arizona community colleges, according to Aliento 2022-2023 Fellowship Cohort member and ASU student Nathalya Galvez.
These rates stem from the “Non-Resident Tuition Rate for Arizona High School Graduates” policy passed by the Arizona Board of Regents in 2015 and modified in 2019, which applies to students who spent at least 3 years in high school and graduated.
The high costs deter many immigrants from pursuing a higher education.
“I’ve had so many friends and family who have always wanted to pursue a higher education, but we’re never able to because they can’t afford to pay those tuition rates,” Galvez said, “And I believe that all students — regardless of immigration status— should have the same access to those same opportunities as their peers when they’ve been living in Arizona their entire life.”
Many immigrants come to America to pursue a higher education but are faced with challenges.
“I believe everybody should have access to an education. You know, I think it’s one of the beauties of coming to America and living up to the American dream, although it is far, far from it,” Galvez said. “I believe that everybody can have an education and accomplish the American dream, somehow, someway.”
This sentiment is reflected in Patiño’s reasoning for creating Proposition 308, especially since he was a DACA recipient, and experienced the impact of Proposition 300 in his college experience. Patiño was accepted into university with a full scholarship, but that changed after the proposition went into effect.
“We got a letter in January 2007 saying, ‘Hey you’re still accepted, but now you have to pay three times as much and you’re not eligible for this scholarship and more so that you gotta figure [it] out.’ And the tuition was actually like, that was my family’s yearly income. So, we were like, there’s no way we’re gonna pay for it,” Patiño said. “And I just saw [the] sadness of my mom, and she started crying and I was like, your sacrifice[s] that you made for me to have this opportunity, they’re not going to be in vain. I’m gonna figure it out.”
That experience encouraged him to help other DREAMers from facing the same challenges.
Additionally, Patiño believes that increased access to higher education will better the community by decreasing unemployment and crime, as well as improving the general quality of life for people.
“Traditionally, if one immigrant of the family pursues a higher education, it changes not strictly for themselves, but the whole family,” Patiño said. “It also ends, for a lot of families, that cycle of poverty that a lot of folks have, and it creates more opportunities going forward for the other communities.”
Legality of Proposition 308
RidersUSA, an organization composed of motorcyclists who focus on policy that affects the U.S., is one of the groups opposing Proposition 308.
According to Vince Ansel, a member of RidersUSA, the goal of the organization is to share information with the public to protect the sovereignty of America.
RidersUSA’s main concern about Proposition 308 is that the passing of this initiative allows immigrants to receive the benefits of living in America, despite not following the legal process to enter the country.
“The United States is for the United States citizens to enjoy the benefits of living here. If you want to live here, if you want to become educated here, if you want to work here, you have to do so legally,” Ansel said. “There’s no exception to that rule. You either follow the law, or else you’re out. Stay in your home country.”
Former president of RidersUSA Tim Rafferty added that he and the organization are not against immigrants, but he does think that the parents of DACA recipients should be present in the conversation concerning Proposition 308 and acknowledge their involvement in the matter.
“Riders USA doesn’t have any hard feelings or events put towards these children, these DACA recipients, these kids, and we feel sorry for these kids,” Rafferty said. “And, if you asked me what would I say to those kids? I would tell them I’m sorry their parents broke our immigration laws and put you in this position. And we feel very sorry for those kids. And it’s their parents who are not brought into the discussion and need to be.”
Hopes for Proposition 308
Rafferty and Ansel hope that the proposition will not be enacted into Arizona law; if it is passed by Arizona voters, they believe it will be challenged and reviewed in court.
“I don’t expect anything to change because I believe it’ll be challenged in court,” Rafferty said. “So, I don’t think it’ll actually go into effect. I’m hoping that it will be challenged in court.”
Patiño, Galvez and Avila hope to make the opportunities in America available to the immigrant community.
Avila hopes that the passing and implementation of Proposition 308 will change how the world perceives Arizona.
“I hope that we’re able to really reflect on the fact that Arizona is not a state that many people around the country and around the world think it is, an epicenter of anti-immigrant sentiment, a place where we don’t welcome and embrace you know, talented young people to seek a future,” Avila said. “I think that the passage of 308 would send a really clear message to the world to say Arizona has changed.”
To Patiño, Proposition 308 encourages immigrants to push for the achievements that they want, and have the same opportunities that others have.
“Overall education in that aspect, impacts families, but specifical for an individual from an immigrant household,” Patiño said. “They will create hope that they could have opportunities that other folks have, and then [believe] I can have some control over my life.”
Galvez believes that Proposition 308 will give immigrants a voice.
“But I mean, beyond legislation, I think that this would just be a huge milestone in the immigration community and many Hispanic communities because, I mean— everybody has been, I mean— not only speaking for myself, but also for my community,” Galvez said.
“We’ve all known what it feels like to get shut down because of the color of our skin, because of our background, to be stereotyped and I just believe that it would help get rid of the status, the stigma of immigrants, and just, it essentially just gives us a foot, a foot through the door, you know. It would give us a seat at the table.”
Contact the reporter at icaro@asu.edu.
