letter to eileen klein, president of arizona board of regents

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President Eileen KleinArizona Board of Regents2020 N. Central AvenueSuite 230Phoenix, AZ 85004-4593

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1202) 2254065

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PHoENrx, AZ 85004(602) 256-0551

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April2l,2015

Dear President Klein:

As you and the Board of Regents prepare to vote in the coming weeks on tuition issues that impactstudents across Arizona,I urge you to support our families and our state's economic competitivenessby granting full in-state tuition for beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals(DACA) program. While the Board's recent proposal to lower tuition rates for DACA beneficiaries isa positive step forward, it does not go far enough to meet the needs of our students and ourcommunity.

I have heard from and met with many students in my Phoenix and Washington, D.C. offices who, asDACA beneficiaries, struggle to afford the costs of higher education as they pursue their goals ofbecoming doctors, teachers, lawyers, and contributing members of communities across our state. Ialso regularly hear from DACA beneficiaries at Maricopa County Community College who alreadybenefit from in-state tuition and exempli0, the kind of leadership we need to keep in our state.

Our young people cannot wait in limbo while the State of Arizona continues to waste valuabletaxpayer resources on a frivolous lawsuit against the Maricopa County Community College system.Their futures shouldn't be delayed because of partisan politics. Students across Arizona are countingon your leadership to provide the financial security they need to continue their education. Allowingyoung people to achieve their goals by attaining a higher education is good for our economy and forArizona businesses seeking talented young people to retain their competitive edge in the globalmarketplace. Denying in-state tuition to these students does not mean they will remain enrolled andpay higher out-of-state rates - most will simply be unable to afford the cost of classes and may beforced to abandon their studies, unfairly disrupting their educational trajectories.

I urge the Board to follow Maricopa County Community College's lead by putting our students andour economy above partisan politics and by doing right by young Arizonans striving to achieve theirdreams.

g,&,HMember of Congress

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