TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Wednesday is the first day of early voting and a bipartisan campaign is kicking it off by spreading the word about Prop 308.
The Yes on 308 Campaign rallied this afternoon before they started canvassing the Tucson area.
The proposition would allow non-citizen students who have graduated and attended school in Arizona for at least two years to qualify for in-state tuition.
Juan Carlos Cerda is the Deputy Campaign Director of the American Business Immigration Coalition. He’s a DACA recipient from Texas where he received in-state tuition. He said,”many of my friends from Arizona, who are also teachers, they have to pay three times the in-state tuition rate even though they grew up here, they went to Arizona high schools, they graduated from Arizona high schools, and it’s unfair they have to pay this rate.”
Hazel Villatoro is also a DACA recipient. She came to Arizona when she was one, and attended school here as well. “My freshman year of high school, I remember crying in the night because I didn’t know if I would get the same opportunity as my siblings,” she said.
Many came out to support the campaign, including TUSD Governing Board Member Natalie Luna Rose. She said it’s worth noting both Republicans and Democrats support the proposition.
“Perhaps the voters should say, ‘okay, if they’re saying it’s okay, it’s not adding to my taxes, it’s just making things fair, then why don’t we want these kids to stay here?’ They’re apart of our community, our friends, our family, our classmates, our neighbors. They one day could be our doctor, our nurse, our next mayor,” said Luna Rose.
But not everyone agrees it’s fair. John Fillmore is an Arizona House Representative and he said, "I do believe they should pay out of state tuition because, quite frankly, by allowing them to pay in-state tuition, they're getting the benefit that a kid from Texas or New Mexico or California is being denied."
The Yes on 308 campaign plans to knock on 3000 doors in the Tucson area to spread their message.
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Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.