Immigration advocates speak out against Trump’s threats to halt in-state tuition

One of President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders has zeroed in on in-state tuition for undocumented students, less than three years after the state of Arizona passed a law in support of Dreamers.

In 2022, Arizona voters passed Proposition 308, allowing qualifying undocumented students, also known as Dreamers, to receive in-state tuition at public colleges and universities, and according to local advocates, it will remain in effect. This hasn’t prevented Dreamers from fearing for their or their family’s safety.

The executive order, signed on April 28, calls on the Department of Homeland Security to take action to stop the enforcement of state laws that favor immigrants, “including State laws that provide in-State higher education tuition to (immigrants) but not to out-of-State American citizens.” The order leaves each state to determine its interpretation of the order.

Victor, 17, whose full name has been omitted due to safety concerns, is a Dreamer who arrived in the U.S. when he was 3. His parents are also undocumented. 

A current junior in high school, Victor remains hopeful he can attend college and possibly obtain a law degree to help others like him. But with Trump’s latest order threatening any groups or institutions that help undocumented immigrants, his future remains uncertain.

“It's really, really scary. I was supposed to go on a first-generation college fair visit. My counselors had to sit me down and they said, ‘We can't guarantee that ICE agents won't get on the bus,’” he said. 

“Just think about ICE targeting schools (and) children. I think that's terrifying.”

Arizona advocates defend the right to education

At the heart of this issue is Aliento, a Phoenix-based nonprofit that supports students, regardless of their immigration status, with scholarships and other services so that they may pursue higher education. 

Vice President Jose Patiño said Trump’s order has created a lot of confusion among schools, students and government leaders.

Because the organization is seen as a resource for many high schools and universities, Patiño said he has faced questions from many school administrators regarding Prop. 308 and if it supersedes Trump’s executive order. Would they be breaking the law if they referred students to Aliento for services?

However, Patiño emphasized, Arizonans approved in-state tuition for Dreamers, which went into effect in 2023.

“Proposition 308 is still the law. You (schools and organizations) can tell your students that they can enroll in higher education and they'll be eligible to pay that in-state tuition rate,” Patiño said. “We had a conversation with the attorney general's office. They're in agreement with our interpretation. They agree that Proposition 308 satisfies the federal and the state’s law.”

Other national civil rights organizations, like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and TheDream.US, have spoken out against the legality of Trump’s orders and believe that the president is overreaching within his power.

“These orders have no legal basis and are another example of President Trump’s relentless campaign to attack the integrity of our legal system and separation of powers by targeting judges, lawyers and other officials who refuse to comply with his extreme agenda,” ACLU said in a statement.

“Policies that block Dreamers from affordable college opportunities are harmful — not just to Dreamers, but to entire communities and to America’s economy, workforce and future,” Gaby Pacheco, President and CEO of TheDream.US, said in a statement. “Actions like this Executive Order move us further away from real solutions — and further away from honoring the success stories Dreamers have already written into America’s story.”

Patiño said he is working with state officials to decide how to challenge the legality of Trump’s current order.

But in Patiño’s experience, as a Dreamer himself, the issues with undocumented students having access to higher education run much deeper than what’s seen on the surface. Policy of this nature is put into place to completely deter students from going to college, he said. 

In the past, Patiño has had the opportunity to speak to Republican legislators while advocating for the rights of Dreamers. One common theme emerged. 

“It's because (Republican lawmakers) didn't want to have the U.S. citizen children compete with Dreamers in school because they knew that they were going to do whatever — to work as hard as we can — to be successful. ‘We're going to lose to them. The only way to do it is if we're not competing with (Dreamers),’” Patino said of his conversation with legislators.

A Dreamer's perspective

But the enforceability of an executive order and whether or not state agencies and institutions should abide by them is far from Victor’s mind when people like him are being targeted in all spaces.

The majority of students who attend Victor’s private school are white. After Trump won the election in November, some students arrived on campus the next day wearing the emblematic Make America Great Again hats, he said. 

Victor said he believes Trump’s agenda fuels racism and hate amongst his supporters. It’s the personal attack that hurts the most, he said.

“It's not (the) policies themselves…  there's people who you think are on your side and they stab you in the back and they say, ‘Well he doesn't belong here. He didn't do it the right way.’ It's essentially, I would say, a systemic betrayal,” Victor said. 

“I love this country, but this country doesn't love me back.” 

Roxanne De La Rosa, a south Phoenix native, is a freelance reporter based in Phoenix, Arizona. Her coverage includes education, social justice and immigration issues.