In what is being described by a majority of members of the Arizona House Republican Caucus as a betrayal, Republican Reps. Michelle Udall and Joel John forced a vote on a bill that could grant in-state tuition at Arizona’s public universities for illegal migrants.
Monday’s passage of SCR1044 sends the question of in-state tuition eligibility to the voters. If it passes, a 15-year-old ban on in-state tuition for undocumented high school graduates, including about 2,000 Dreamers per year would be repealed.
Both Udall and John have not been considered reliable Republican votes in the past. Their decision to force a vote on the matter came as little surprise to Capitol insiders. Cook, on the other hand has been considered a fairly reliable conservative vote, shocked Republicans with his obvious glee at the prospect of undermining his rival, Speaker Rusty Bowers.
Bowers compared the mini-coup d’é tat to a plot line in the musical, The King and I. He stated that he would have normally voted for the measure, but could not do so given the fact the three Republicans had chosen to force the vote rather than allow it to follow a normal legislative process.
For Democrats, passage of the resolution was vital to ensuring a large progressive turn out in what was seen as the Republican’s election to lose in 2022. The passage this year should all but guarantee that the Republicans will have a difficult time keeping their majorities in both chambers of the Legislature.
Rep. Bret Roberts discussed his difficulty with the bill as the husband of an immigrant. He stated that despite the fact his household was split on the subject, he could not support the bill due to the fact U.S. citizens living outside the state would be penalized with higher tuition while students living illegally in Arizona would benefit from the reduced cost.
Rep. Shawnna Bolick stated that she was uncomfortable with the fact the resolution expands the current benefits provided to illegal immigrants through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy. DACA currently allows some individuals living in the country illegally to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation.
Big thank you to @Bolick4AZ for a meaningful speech.#AngelParents #StopIncentives pic.twitter.com/RNiXraN7dW
— AZSuburbs??♀️ (@noprezzie2012) May 10, 2021
Bob Worsley, co-chair of the Intermountain chapter of the American Business Immigration Coalition, thanked Reps. Michelle Udall, Joel John, and David Cook for joining the “every Democrat who supported” this “politically smart” move.
Currently, a person who was not a citizen or legal resident of the United States or who is without lawful immigration status may not be classified as an in-state student or as a county resident. Additionally, any person who is not a U.S. citizen, is without lawful immigration status and is enrolled as a student at any university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) or at any community college may not receive tuition waivers, fee waivers, grants, scholarship assistance, financial aid, tuition assistance or any other type of financial assistance that is subsidized or paid in whole or in part with state monies.