Arizona improves college access for undocumented students. Activists say it’s a ‘first step’

In November, Arizona voters narrowly approved Proposition 308, making undocumented immigrants eligible for in-state tuition and state financial aid at state universities and community colleges. Photograph: Caitlin O’Hara/Reuters

Andrea Vasquez, a social worker at a high school in Tucson, Arizona, was approached by a student in her senior year. She was asked how difficult it would be to attend college as an undocumented immigrant.

Vasquez, 29, immediately flashed back to a younger version of herself, studying at the school where she now works, Palo Verde Magnet high school, and remembering her own struggle to get to college while being undocumented.