Defying Governor, Arizona College Offers Tuition Break for Illegal Immigrants

Officials of the Maricopa County Community College District, in Arizona, said on Wednesday that young illegal immigrants who obtained work permits under the terms of the Obama administration’s deferred-action program would be allowed to use those documents to prove their state residency, thus giving them access to lower in-state tuition rates.

A spokesman for the 10-campus system told The Arizona Republic that college officials had made the decision after conducting a legal review and concluding that work permits were already on the state’s list of documents needed to prove legal residency. The decision defies Jan Brewer, the state’s Republican governor, who issued an executive order urging state agencies to ensure that young immigrants who received permits in the program were prohibited from receiving public benefits.

Ms. Brewer issued that order on August 15, the same day that young illegal immigrants could begin applying for work permits as part of the deferred-action program, according to the newspaper. A spokeswoman for the Arizona Board of Regents told the newspaper that the group was still reviewing state law to determine if students with work permits could use them for tuition discounts at Arizona’s three public universities.