No.
The $10.5 million cited by the Department of Justice in its lawsuit against Arizona does not represent tuition savings for undocumented students in a single year or semester. It is based on a calculation using three years of data.
The DOJ cited the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting’s investigation on Proposition 308, which offers in-state tuition to graduates of Arizona high schools if they attended for at least two years, regardless of their immigration status.
AZCIR reported that 432 students received in-state tuition through Prop. 308 at Arizona State University from spring 2023 through fall 2025.
The DOJ treated those 432 students as though they represented a single semester, then multiplied that figure by $24,000, the difference between ASU’s in-state and out-of-state tuition rates. The lawsuit incorrectly characterized the resulting $10.5 million as tuition reductions for the fall 2025 semester.
This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
Sources
- Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting | Arizona voters approved in-state tuition for undocumented students. The state left implementation to chance
- US Department of Justice | The Department of Justice Files Complaints Against Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington Challenging State Laws that Provide In-State Tuition to Illegal Aliens
- Arizona State Univeristy | Tuition (out-of-state)
- Arizona State Univeristy | Tuition (in-state)
Support AZCIR with a donation!
Sign Up, Stay Informed
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is partnering with Gigafact to produce timely fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.
