Texas court sides with DOJ, prohibits in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants
Undocumented students no longer getting in-state tuition
Students who are undocumented immigrants will no longer get in-state tuition at universities in Texas after the state was sued over a law that had been in place for more than two decades
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Justice is suing the State of Texas over a 24-year-old law that allows undocumented immigrants to be charged in-state tuition at universities.
Later the same day as the DOJ's filing, a Texas court judged in favor of their allegations, prohibiting the state from continuing the practice instated by the 2001 Texas Dream Act.
DOJ Sues Texas
What we know:
The DOJ filed its complaint in the Northern District of Texas on Wednesday. The suit alleges that Texas is in violation of the "supremacy clause," due to providing undocumented immigrants who live in Texas with in-state tuition at state universities.
In a statement released by Bondi on Wednesday, the head of the DOJ says Texas law "blatantly conflicts" with federal law in this regard.
Two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump, "Ending Taxpayer Subsidation of Open Borders (Feb. 19. 2025)" and "Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens (April 28, 2025)," are cited as Federal regulations that Texas violates with its decades-old provision.
What we don't know:
The DOJ’s lawsuit demands that Texas cease the actions it outlines as "unconstitutional," and award the U.S. costs and fees. It does not define the costs and fees.
The suit does not include a deadline for Texas to respond.
Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have yet to release responses to the suit.
What they're saying:
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaking on behalf of the DOJ, believes the "Texas Dream Act" treats some U.S. residents like "second-class citizens."
"Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens," the attorney general said in the DOJ release. "The Justice Department will relentlessly fight to vindicate federal law and ensure that U.S. citizens are not treated like second-class citizens anywhere in the country."
After the court's ruling, AG Ken Paxton released a statement.
"Today, I entered a joint motion along with the Trump Administration opposing a law that unconstitutionally and unlawfully gave benefits to illegal aliens that were not available to American citizens," said Attorney General Paxton. "Ending this discriminatory and un-American provision is a major victory for Texas."
Texas Court Judges on DOJ Suit
Later on Wednesday, the U.S. District Court of Texas' Northern District issued a judgment on the suit.
The filing, signed by District Judge Reed O'Conner, declares that the claims made in the DOJ's lawsuit are valid, and "permanently enjoins" the state from enforcing the 2001 law as applied to immigrants who are in the country illegally.
The Texas Dream Act
Dig deeper:
The Texas Dream Act, 2001’s House Bill 1403, passed through House and Senate committees in the 77th Legislature unanimously.
The law allowed any student living in Texas, regardless of citizenship status, to qualify as a resident for the purposes of receiving in-state tuition.
This Texas session, Senate Bill 1798 sought to negate the Texas Dream Act. The bill passed out of committee on May 14, but was marked as "not placed again on intent calendar" on May 26.
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According to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal, Texas was one of 24 states and D.C. to provide in-state tuition to undocumented students.
What does this mean for Central Texas?
Local perspective:
"It's really frustrating now to have the state and the federal government kind of go over the heads of lawmakers and create this and try to knock down policy. It's also just a bad interpretation of federal law and everything happened within six hours. It gave the public and interveners no chance to try to get their voices heard," Krystal Gomez, managing attorney with Texas Immigration Law Council said.
"It's our immigrant community being targeted again and again," Arshia Papari with Austin Students for a Democratic Society, said.
"It really seems like a coordinated attack on young people and students," Gomez said.
Both UT Austin and Texas State University say they will comply with the law. UT says they don't have an estimate on how many students this affects. Most universities don't track legal status.
"Taking away a crucial component of their ability to engage in college, to engage higher education and pursue their dreams is really unjust," Papari said.
Gomez says there could be a ripple effect in other states.
"That's definitely a big concern nationally is that what has happened here will get copied and pasted across the country," Gomez said.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Department of Justice, Texas Legislature Online, the Higher Ed Immigration Portal, previous FOX 7 reporting, and interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Angela Shen