Arizona's colleges struggle to enforce new tuition statute

Yvonne Wingett
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 3, 2007 12:00 AM

Arizona's universities and colleges don't know how they will deal with undocumented students nearly two months after voters passed Proposition 300, leaving students uncertain about tuition costs and their education.

The new law more than triples tuition and could affect thousands of undocumented students. Some students are scrambling to find private scholarships that don't require Social Security numbers, proof of legal residency or citizenship. Some said they will try to raise money from businesses and non-profits. Others plan to protest the law during Monday's Bowl Championship Series college football title game in Glendale and call attention to the DREAM Act, a proposal to give undocumented students a chance to gain legal permanent residency.

The passage of Proposition 300 strikes at the heart of student immigration cases that have played out in Arizona: whether students brought to the U.S. illegally as children by their parents should be given special status.