“Let’s make sure our college-bound Dreamers, who meet the same requirements as their classmates, pay the same in-state tuition rate. It’s only fair.”
PHOENIX, AZ – Today, The Yes On 308 campaign released a letter addressed to Arizona republican voters and signed by 28 prominent Arizona republican party members announcing their support for Proposition 308, which once passed by voters in November, will allow students without documentation who attend and graduated from Arizona high schools to attend state universities and colleges at the same tuition rate as their peers.
The letter’s prominent republican signatories include: Mesa Mayor John Giles, Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Chicanos Por La Cosa President & CEO David Adame, former Arizona State Senator Bob Worsely, Sunbelt Holdings President & CEOJohn Graham, former Arizona State Senator Heather Carter, Arizona State Representative Joel John, and former Arizona State Senator Michelle Udall.
The letter’s release falls just days after the Arizona State Republican Party, in expressing its opposition to the ballot initiative, spread misinformation about the economic costs of passing Prop 308.
FULL LETTER TEXT
Dear fellow Arizona republican voters,
As lifelong republicans, we the undersigned know that keeping Arizona’s prospective college graduates in Arizona can only help grow our state’s economy. Allowing all Arizona high school graduates to pay the same tuition rate at our state colleges and universities is an important step toward meeting critical workforce needs and would greatly benefit the state’s economy.
The overall spending power for all of Arizona’s DACA eligible population is over $617.9 Million. According to the latest research, earning a college degree by paying in-state tuition would boost the earnings of Arizona’s Dreamers by more than $28 million annually. More than 3,600 Arizona students would benefit from an in-state tuition policy every year.
The conservative state budget review committee noted that Prop 308 would have ZERO impact on the state budget; that means Prop 308 will cost taxpayers nothing extra to do this and the state’s economy will benefit.
Prop 308 is the smart thing to do and it is also the right thing to do. Dreamers are Arizona kids, and they deserve the same opportunities as other Arizona students. This is their home. Let’s make sure our college-bound Dreamers, who meet the same requirements as their classmates, pay the same in-state tuition rate. It’s only fair.
That is why we urge our fellow republicans to vote Yes on Prop 308.
Sincerely,
John Giles, Mayor, Mesa
Rep. Rusty Bowers, Speaker, Arizona House of Representatives
David Adame, President & CEO Chicanos Por La Causa
Bob Worsely, former Arizona State Senator
John Graham, Chairman & CEO Sunbelt Holdings
Heather Carter, former Arizona State Senator
Rep. Joel John, Member, Arizona House of Representatives
Michelle Udall, former Arizona State Representative
Rep. Joanne Osborne, Member, Arizona House of Representatives
Sen. Thomas Shope, Member, Arizona State Senate
Rep. David Cook, Member, Arizona House of Representatives
Sen. Tyler Pace, Member, Arizona State Senate
Sen. Paul Boyer, Member, Arizona State Senate
Kirk Adams, former Speaker, Arizona House of Representatives
Tyler Montague, President, Yes on 308
Julie Spillsbury, Mesa City Councilwoman
Carlos Alfaro, Arizona State Director, American Business Immigration Coalition
Joe Garcia, Executive Director, CPLC Action Fund
Wilford Anderson, former Mesa School Board President
Denny Barney, former Maricopa County Supervisor
Don Stapley, former Maricopa County Supervisor
Phil Francis, Retired CEO & Chairman, PetSmart
Juanita Francis
Rick Romley, former Maricopa County Attorney
Jimmy Lindblom, Chairman, East Valley Partnership
Scott Smith, former Mayor, Mesa, AZ
Dave Richins, former Mesa City Councilmember
Lisa Hoberg
Background
What would Prop 308 do? Prop 308 would enable any person who has lived in Arizona for two or more years and graduated from an Arizona high school to attend Arizona colleges regardless of their immigration status. Dreamers – Arizona high school graduates who came to our state as children without documentation – are our students. They deserve the same opportunities as other high school graduates.
Prop. 308 is fairness for all high school students. Each year, college is much less affordable for more than 3,600 Arizona high school graduates who do not qualify for in-state tuition at Arizona state schools. College-bound Dreamers who came to Arizona as children without documentation are currently treated as out-of-state students who must pay triple the in-state tuition rate, even though they graduated from our high schools. Prop. 308 would let Dreamers pay the in-state tuition rate. There is no “cutting in line” and they must pay the same as other Arizona students.
Who qualifies? Anyone who has lived in Arizona for at least two years and graduated from an Arizona high school would be charged the same in-state tuition rates at the state’s public colleges and universities as their fellow Arizona high school graduates. More than 3,600 Arizona students would benefit from an in-state tuition policy every year.
Economic benefits for Arizona: Keeping Arizona’s prospective college graduates in Arizona can only help grow our state’s economy, granting access to in-state tuition to all Arizona graduates is an important step toward meeting critical workforce needs and would greatly benefit the state’s economy.
Research highlights the crucial role that student Dreamers play in Arizona’s economy, including in some of the state’s fastest-growing and most in-demand fields, like healthcare, education, and the skilled trades. Still, the state is facing critical workforce shortages across the skills and education spectrum.
No new taxes: The conservative state budget review committee noted that this proposal would have ZERO impact on the state budget; that means it will cost taxpayers nothing extra to do this and the state’s economy will benefit.
Economic growth: $617.9 Million Overall spending power for all of Arizona’s DACA eligible population. Earning a college degree by paying in-state tuition would boost the earnings of Arizona’s Dreamers by more than $28 million annually.
20 States Have passed in-state tuition for Dreamers: Conservative-led states like Florida, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, are among 20 states that have passed in-state tuition for Dreamers and have an advantage over Arizona in the search for top-notch employees.
Prop. 308 reflects Arizona values: Arizonans want to work hard, follow the rules, get a good job and reach their potential. Together, we can ensure all of our high school graduates have a fair shot at becoming productive, tax-paying members of society, no matter what they look like or where they were born. By setting in-state tuition fees for Dreamers, we can keep them in Arizona, the only home they’ve known.
ABOUT
Yes On 308 is a bipartisan campaign led by education, business, faith, and civic leaders seeking to provide all Arizona high school graduates, regardless of their immigration status, the opportunity to pay their own way through college at the in-state tuition rate. Ending the unfair treatment of Arizona’s undocumented high school graduates by allowing equal access to in-state tuition rates at the state colleges and universities will allow them to reach their educational goals, become self-sufficient, and give back to our community.
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