Texas agrees to end in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants after DOJ lawsuit filed against the state

CBS News

05-06-2025

Texas has agreed to end in-state tuition rates for undocumented immigrants.
The Department of Justice sued Texas on Wednesday over a long-standing state education policy, which it says illegally favors undocumented foreign students. The lawsuit accuses Texas of discriminating against out-of-state American students by offering in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrants.
That same day, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a joint motion along with the Trump administration to end the law.
It's one of the latest efforts by the Trump administration to crack down on immigration into the country. President Trump issued two executive orders to prevent "benefits or preferential treatments" from going to undocumented immigrants.
A 2001 Texas law made "dreamers" eligible for in-state tuition
A two-decades-old law allows undocumented immigrants who live in the state to pay in-state tuition.
In 2001, Texas passed a law allowing those referred to at times as "dreamers" to become eligible for in-state tuition if they meet certain residency criteria.
The DOJ said that policy is unconstitutional. Paxton agreed and, in a legal filing, asked the court to issue a permanent injunction prohibiting Texas from enforcing the law.
"Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens," Attorney General Bondi said in a statement. "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."
Paxton's filing states "[i]n direct and express conflict with federal law, Texas education law specifically allows an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States to qualify for in-state tuition based on residence within the state, while explicitly denying resident-based tuition rates to U.S. citizens that do not qualify as Texas residents."
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas agreed and entered a final judgment declaring the law unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction against its application.
"In-state tuition for illegal immigrants in Texas has ended," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a post on X. "Texas is permanently enjoined from providing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants."
Continuing changes
Texas lawmakers have made previous attempts to change the law, but it has never made it out of a legislative session.
Last month, the state senate advanced a bill that would disqualify undocumented students from receiving in-state tuition. That bill would require those who have previously received in-state tuition to pay back the difference.
Twenty-four other states and Washington, D.C., offer in-state tuition for dreamers. Florida did too, but repealed the 2014 law earlier this year. That takes effect on July 1.