Ad about reduced tuition for Arizona’s immigrant students leaves out important information

In the Republican primary race for Arizona governor, Kari Lake, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, claimed that one of her opponents, Karrin Taylor Robson, is "anti-America First."

In a 30-second TV ad that Lake tweeted July 7, she said Robson "gave illegals tuition discounts and made us pay for it." 

.@Karrin4Arizona is trying to lie and buy her way into office.

But her record shows her true colors: Pro-Amenesty & Anti-America First.

Our new Ad highlights her betrayal of the American people.

Share this if you're DONE with backstabbers & ready for the America First agenda. pic.twitter.com/E0xff6OOtE

— Kari Lake for AZ Governor (@KariLake) July 8, 2022

Lake also made the claim July 6 on Steve Bannon’s podcast "War Room," saying Robson "voted to give illegal immigrants a reduced tuition less than what American students had to pay." 

Robson served on the Arizona Board of Regents, the governing body of Arizona's public university system, from 2017 to 2021.

Lake’s campaign said the claim is based on three Arizona Board of Regents votes on tuition for students in the country illegally.

The claim is partly accurate.

Students in the U.S. illegally who graduate from an Arizona high school qualify for a reduced out-of-state tuition rate in Arizona’s public universities — the board, including Robson, voted to allow this. (They do not qualify for in-state tuition.)

But this reduced out-of-state tuition is unsubsidized, meaning taxpayers do not pay for it. 

Also, the discounted rate isn’t available only to immigrants illegally in the country. U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are also eligible if they meet the specified requirements.

In-state tuition for Arizona students in the U.S. illegally has undergone years of legal challenges.

A 2006 Arizona ballot initiative, Proposition 300, prohibited in-state tuition for students in the U.S. illegally. However, in 2012 the Obama administration created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which prevents the deportation of immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally as children.

As a result, the Maricopa County Community College District began offering eligible DACA students in-state tuition, by accepting their employment authorization as evidence of residency. In 2013, then-Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne sued Maricopa Community College District over this decision, saying it violated Proposition 300.

A Maricopa County Superior Court in 2015 ruled that extending in-state tuition to DACA recipients was not illegal. That same year, the Arizona Board of Regents voted to allow in-state tuition for eligible DACA students. Robson was not on the board at the time. 

In June 2017, the Arizona Court of Appeals struck down the lower court ruling, saying DACA beneficiaries were not eligible for in-state tuition. Maricopa Community Colleges appealed the decision to the Arizona Supreme Court.

That same month, on one of Robson’s first days on the Arizona Board of Regents, the board voted 7-1 to continue providing in-state tuition for DACA students while the case was under litigation. Robson supported the measure.

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In 2018, the Arizona Supreme Court agreed with the appeals court and ruled that DACA students were ineligible for in-state tuition.

In response, the Board of Regents prohibited in-state tuition for DACA students, but turned to a 2015 board rule that allowed it to provide lower tuition costs for Arizona’s DACA recipients. That rule created an unsubsidized "high-school graduate nonresident tuition rate," of 150% of in-state tuition for students who were ineligible for in-state tuition but met a set of criteria.

The rate became an option for students who met all three requirements below:

• Attended an Arizona high school for at least three years;

• Graduated from an Arizona high school; and

• Were "lawfully present" in Arizona. (DACA recipients are considered to be "lawfully present;" that’s not the same as having legal status.)

In 2019, the board unanimously voted to amend the 2015 policy so that all students who live illegally in Arizona, not just DACA recipients, are also eligible for the reduced nonresident rate. 

Currently, in-state tuition at Arizona State University, one of the three public universities the board oversees, is about $13,000 a year. Nonresident tuition is around $19,000 a year, and the out-of-state tuition cost is $32,000 a year.

In 2021, the board, in a symbolic vote, affirmed its support for legislation that makes DACA recipients and other Arizona high school graduates eligible for in-state tuition. This vote did not change any policies.

In November, Arizonans will vote on a measure seeking a partial repeal of Proposition 300. 

Lake’s ad misleads voters by claiming that Robson’s votes placed the tuition costs on taxpayers.

A student who is eligible for the reduced tuition rate is responsible for paying it. 

Students in the U.S. illegally are ineligible for federal financial aid, and in Arizona, because of Proposition 300, they are also ineligible for state-funded financial aid. These students rely on their own money and private assistance to pay for college.

Arizona spends less than most states on higher education, according to data from the Urban Institute. A large part of Arizona’s higher education funding comes from tuition payments, not taxpayer dollars. 

All students who graduate from an Arizona high school, regardless of their immigration status, are eligible for the discounted out-of-state tuition rate if they meet all required criteria.

Lake claimed that Robson "gave illegals tuition discounts and made us pay for it."

While on the Board of Regents, Robson voted to allow DACA students to continue paying in-state tuition while a case over their eligibility for this rate was resolved in the courts. She also voted to allow students in the U.S. illegally to qualify for a lowered out-of-state tuition rate if they meet other requirements.

This tuition is unsubsidized, meaning the government does not pay for it. Students illegally in the country are not eligible for financial aid or student loans.

We rate this claim Half True.