Texas agrees to end in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants after DOJ lawsuit filed against the state
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
26 minutes ago
- News24
Harvard scores a temporary victory in battle against Trump administration ‘vendetta'
A court on Thursday put a temporary stay on Donald Trump's latest effort to stop foreign students from enrolling at Harvard, as the US president's battle with one of the world's most prestigious universities intensified. A proclamation issued by the White House late Wednesday sought to bar most new international students at Harvard from entering the country, and said existing foreign enrollees risked having their visas terminated. 'Harvard's conduct has rendered it an unsuitable destination for foreign students and researchers,' the order said. Harvard quickly amended an existing complaint filed in federal court, saying: 'This is not the Administration's first attempt to sever Harvard from its international students.' '(It) is part of a concerted and escalating campaign of retaliation by the government in clear retribution for Harvard's exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government's demands to control Harvard's governance, curriculum, and the 'ideology' of its faculty and students.' READ | 'Such a disgrace': Outrage as Trump ramps up attacks on Harvard, Columbia US District Judge Allison Burroughs on Thursday ruled the government cannot enforce Trump's proclamation. Harvard had showed, she said, that without a temporary restraining order, it risked sustaining 'immediate and irreparable injury before there is an opportunity to hear from all parties'. The same judge had already blocked Trump's earlier effort to bar international students from enrolling at the storied university. The government already cut around $3.2 billion of federal grants and contracts benefiting Harvard and pledged to exclude the Cambridge, Massachusetts, institution from any future federal funding. Harvard has been at the forefront of Trump's campaign against top universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and 'viewpoint diversity'. Trump has also singled out international students at Harvard, who accounted for 27% of total enrolment in the 2024-2025 academic year and are a major source of income. In its filing, Harvard acknowledged that Trump had the authority to bar an entire class of aliens if it was deemed to be in the public interest, but stressed that was not the case in this action. The president's actions thus are not undertaken to protect the 'interests of the United States' but instead to pursue a government vendetta against Harvard. Harvard filing Since returning to office Trump has targeted elite US universities which he and his allies accuse of being hotbeds of antisemitism, liberal bias and 'woke' ideology. Trump's education secretary also threatened on Wednesday to strip Columbia University of its accreditation. The Republican has targeted the New York Ivy League institution for allegedly ignoring harassment of Jewish students, throwing all of its federal funding into doubt. Unlike Harvard, several top institutions - including Columbia - have already bowed to far-reaching demands from the Trump administration.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US-German citizen charged with trying to bomb embassy building in Israel
A dual U.S. and German citizen was arrested in New York for allegedly attempting to firebomb a branch office of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, the Department of Justice said. Joseph Neumeyer, 28, was arrested by FBI special agents on May 25 at John F. Kennedy International Airport after being deported by Israeli authorities, the Justice Department said in a news release. He was charged with attempting to destroy, by means of fire or explosive, the U.S. Embassy, according to an unsealed criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York. Neumeyer made an initial court appearance before a federal judge in New York City and was ordered detained, the Justice Department said. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. "This defendant is charged with planning a devastating attack targeting our embassy in Israel, threatening death to Americans, and President Trump's life," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. "The Department will not tolerate such violence and will prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law." The arrest came just days after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, D.C. On the evening of May 21, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were killed after leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. The suspect in the shooting, Elias Rodriguez, 31, faces federal and local murder charges along with firearms offenses, authorities said on May 22. U.S. and Israeli officials have condemned the shooting, with Deputy FBI Director Don Bongino calling it an "act of targeted violence." In response to the incident, Israeli embassies immediately increased security measures, USA TODAY previously reported. 'Free Mahmoud': Columbia students boo university president at graduation over Palestinian activist arrest Neumeyer arrived in Israel in April, according to the complaint. He then allegedly traveled to the branch office of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv on May 19 with a backpack containing three rudimentary improvised incendiary devices, known as Molotov cocktails, the complaint states. "Without provocation, Neumeyer spit on an Embassy guard as he walked past," the Justice Department said. "Neumeyer managed to break free as the guard attempted to detain him, leaving behind his backpack." Law enforcement officials in Israel searched the backpack, in which they discovered the Molotov cocktails, and later tracked Neumeyer to his hotel, according to the complaint. He was arrested and Israeli authorities returned him to the U.S. on May 25. A further investigation into Neumeyer revealed that earlier in the day on May 19, he posted on social media, saying "join me as I burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv. Death to America, death to Americans, and f---k the west," the complaint states. Federal prosecutors added that investigators believe a social media account used by Neumeyer also allegedly showed that he made posts threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump. What we know: Suspect in shooting outside Jewish museum in DC faces local, federal charges The recent incidents come amid growing criticism against Israel after it announced plans to intensify its military campaign against Hamas and to control Gaza, which has been devastated by air and ground operations. More than 53,000 people have been killed and nearly all residents in Gaza have been displaced since the start of the war, according to local health authorities. The war has increased tensions between Israel and much of the international community. Relations were further strained last week when Israeli soldiers fired warning shots near a diplomatic delegation in the occupied West Bank, with Italy and France both summoning Israeli ambassadors to explain what happened, according to Reuters. Incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia in response to the war have also surged across the United States, putting law enforcement agencies on high alert. Advocacy groups have reported a record number of discrimination and hate incidents. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the May 21 shooting "a despicable act of hatred, of antisemitism," saying the incident was connected to the increasingly hostile climate facing Israel over the war in Gaza. Netanyahu himself faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israeli politicians have condemned as part of a wider effort to delegitimize the state of Israel. Contributing: Reuters (This story was updated to correct a misspelling/typo.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man arrested for attempted bombing attack of the US embassy in Israel
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
A West Virginia prosecutor is warning women that a miscarriage could lead to criminal charges
Amid a constantly changing reproductive landscape, one West Virginia prosecutor is warning people who have miscarriages in his state that they could get in trouble with the law. Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Tom Truman says that although he personally wouldn't prosecute someone for a miscarriage, he made the suggestion out of an abundance of caution after hearing from other prosecutors. Truman even suggests people might want to let local law enforcement know if they've have a miscarriage. Several reproductive law experts say people around the country have, indeed, faced charges related to miscarriages — but they still wouldn't recommend reaching out to law enforcement. Truman says the idea first came up during a chat with other West Virginia prosecutors at a conference several years ago, and it's been been an ongoing conversation since. The initial conversation was theoretical, since at the time, women in the US still had the constitutional right to an abortion under Roe v. Wade. But some of the prosecutors believed they could charge a person using state laws related to the disposal of human remains. 'I thought these guys were just chewing on a Dreamsicle,' Truman said. But, he added, West Virginia's legal statutes include definitions that are 'pretty broad-ranging.' The way some prosecutors may interpret the law means people who miscarry could face criminal charges, including felonies, he said. 'It's a different world now, and there's a lot of discretion that prosecutors have, and some of them have agendas where they would like to make you an example,' Truman told CNN. 'What's changed is, Roe isn't there anymore, and so that may embolden prosecutors in some cases,' he said. 'I'm just trying to say, 'be careful.' ' Early pregnancy loss is common, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, It happens in about 10 of 100 known pregnancies, often because the embryo isn't developing properly. And some reproductive law experts say it's probably not a good idea to call the police when it happens. 'It's always a mistake to invite law enforcement into your reproductive life,' said Kim Mutcherson, a professor of law at Rutgers Law School who specializes in reproductive justice. Calling police could prompt an unwanted investigation, she says. 'If they then decide, 'no, it actually wasn't a miscarriage, this was somebody who took pills,' or whatever sort of thing that they want to conjure up, then all of a sudden it goes from 'here's this poor woman who had a miscarriage' to 'here's a person who we're going to start to prosecute,' ' Mutcherson said. 'I understand the idea that caution is better than being caught up in something that you weren't anticipating, but it is difficult for me to imagine any circumstance in which I would think it was safe for someone who miscarried to call the police,' she added. Abortion is illegal in West Virginia, but there are exceptions in the case of a medical emergency or a nonviable pregnancy, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Kulsoom Ijaz, senior policy counsel with Pregnancy Justice, a nonprofit focused on the civil and human rights of pregnant people, said she doesn't believe there is anything in West Virginia law that criminalizes miscarriage. 'I think the law is pretty clear,' she said. 'There's nothing in the law that says someone can be charged with a crime in connection to their pregnancy loss or their conduct during pregnancy, or for how they respond to that pregnancy loss or miscarriage or stillbirth.' The fractured landscape of reproductive rights that came about in the wake of the Dobbs decision, the US Supreme Court ruling that revoked the federal right to an abortion, has increased the risk that a pregnant person can face criminal prosecution for a variety of reasons, not just a miscarriage, according to a report from Ijaz's organization. Between June 2022 – when Dobbs was handed down – and June 2023, there were more than 200 cases in the US in which a pregnant person faced criminal charges for conduct associated with pregnancy, pregnancy loss or birth, according to Pregnancy Justice. The number is most likely an undercount, Ijaz said. In West Virginia, there were at least three cases related to pregnancy prosecutions. In one, the state's Supreme Court found that the state could not levy criminal child abuse charges against someone for their prenatal conduct, which included substance use during pregnancy. Even with the strict abortion ban in place, Ijaz said, 'there are still protections for pregnant people.' In states like Alabama that have fetal personhood laws that give fertilized eggs, embryos and a fetus the 'same rights as you and I,' Ijaz said, it's a little different. 'We've seen people get prosecuted and face decades of incarceration for substance use during pregnancy, because that fetus that they're carrying is seen as a child,' she said. Last year in Ohio, a woman who had a miscarriage at home was charged with a felony on the advice of the Warren City Prosecutor's Office, but a grand jury dismissed the case. Ijaz said that she doesn't think there is an appetite for these kind of cases among the public but that no matter where someone lives, inviting the law into their life right after a miscarriage is ill-advised. The legal landscape for reproductive justice 'seems to almost be changing on a daily basis' – and generally not in favorable ways for pregnant people, said Brittany Fonteno, CEO of the National Abortion Federation, a professional association for abortion providers. 'The laws, the rhetoric, the culture in which we are living in within the US has become so incredibly hostile to people who experience pregnancy,' she said. 'I think that the intersection of health care and criminalization is an incredibly dangerous path,' Fonteno added. 'As a country, we should be supporting people and their ability to access the health care that they need, rather than conducting intrusive and traumatic investigations into their reproductive lives.' Fonteno recommends that people who experience pregnancy loss reach out to a qualified medical professional rather than law enforcement. 'While we are living in a very different country than we were pre-Dobbs, I believe still that this is an individual experience and a health care decision,' she said. 'Most providers believe that as well.' Mutcherson also says that the reproductive justice landscape in the US is 'scary' for people who are pregnant, who want to get pregnant or who have bad pregnancy outcomes. If there's any silver lining to the discussion about criminalizing miscarriage, she said, it's that it's good for people to know that such things can happen. 'Women have been criminalized for their pregnancies for decades, frankly, so to the extent that there is a wider and broader conversation about what it means to treat an embryo or a fetus as a person, and the ways in which that diminishes the personhood of somebody who was pregnant, that is in fact a valuable thing, right?' Mutcherson said. 'Maybe this is actually going to bring us to a better space.'
