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A non-profit organization working with Mexican citizens living in the U.S. has awarded scholarships for immigrant students with temporary work permits attending Pima Community College.
Erick Lizarraga, 19, is one of the seven recipients. Lizarraga, the first in his family to go to college, graduated form Tucson Magnet High School and wants to study mechanical engineering.
He received a two-year work permit through President Barack Obama’s Deferred Deportation for Childhood Arrivals, known by its acronym DACA, and can now qualify for in-state tuition at PCC.
“DACA has been a relief for me– it’s been a lifesaver actually,” Lizarraga said.
Fundación México has awarded more than $40,000 in scholarships to Mexican students in the last six years. Before the temporary permits, undocumented students were paying out-of-state tuition no matter how long they had lived in Arizona.
“Now that with DACA they can attend paying in-state tuition it is our obligation as an organization of the community to help them out,” said Florencio Zaragoza, president of Fundación México.
The students will get $500 per semester.