Arizona Gov. Ducey supports DACA despite challenge in Washington

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey wants to see students brought to the U.S. illegally as children continue to get reduced rates at Arizona’s universities.

“We’ve had a long-held tradition in this country that children shouldn’t have to pay for the decisions of their parents,” Ducey said Monday on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Mac & Gaydos. “That’s what I’d like to see. I’d like to see these kids have an opportunity.”

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protects eligible immigrant youth who came to the U.S. when they were children from deportation.

Ducey wants DACA recipients to continue having opportunities — like high school graduates receiving a college tuition break — throughout the state.

Currently, DACA students pay 150% of what students who qualify for in-state tuition do per year, a lower rate than out-of-state students receive.

The Trump administration has attempted to shut down the DACA program in recent years, which would put the future of those children in peril.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has also supported ending the program.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear challenges to lower court rulings that have preserved the Obama-era program in November.

“I don’t think we should ever pull the rug out from underneath anyone,” Ducey said. “I don’t think that’s good public policy.”

Ducey hopes that if the program continues, more DACA recipients in Arizona will be afforded the same opportunities as others in Arizona.

The Migration Policy Institute estimates approximately 98,000 unauthorized immigrants graduate from U.S. high schools every year.

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