Arizona Judge: Some Undocumented Students Eligible for In-State Tuition

An Arizona judge on Tuesday ruled that public colleges in the state may offer in-state tuition to those who are participating in the Obama administration's program for students otherwise lacking legal documentation to remain in the United States, The Arizona Republic reported. A 2006 Arizona law bars any public benefits for those who are undocumented. But after President Obama in 2012 created a “deferred deportation” status for some of these students, the Maricopa Community College District decided that those students were in fact legally in the United States and so offered them in-state rates. Arizona sued to block the rates. The judge ruled that federal law, not state law, governs residency status, and so the state could not challenge the in-state rates offered by Maricopa.