PHOENIX — A former legislator who championed most of Arizona’s toughest immigration laws is threatening to sue the state university system over its decision to at least temporarily keep providing lower in-state tuition rates for immigrants granted deferred deportation status.
Former state Senate President Russell Pearce says a 2006 voter-enacted law prohibits public benefits for anyone living in Arizona without legal immigration status.
Pearce sent a letter Tuesday to state Attorney General Mark Brnovich giving Brnovich 60 days to sue the Arizona Board of Regents over its decision on the tuition issue or he will take legal action himself.
Pearce’s request follows the Maricopa County Community College District board asking the Arizona Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling that those immigrants aren’t eligible for lower in-state college tuition.
