Latest news with #undocumentedStudents
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Justice Department challenges Kentucky reg allowing in-state tuition for undocumented students
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration has asked a federal judge to strike down a Kentucky regulation that it says unlawfully gives undocumented immigrants access to in-state college tuition. The U.S. Justice Department's lawsuit says the regulation violates federal immigration law by enabling undocumented students to qualify for the lower tuition rate at Kentucky's public colleges and universities, while American citizens from other states pay higher tuition to attend the same schools. 'Federal law prohibits aliens not lawfully present in the United States from getting in-state tuition benefits that are denied to out-of-state U.S. citizens. There are no exceptions,' the suit said. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a federal court in Kentucky, follows a similar action by Trump's administration in another red state as part of its efforts to crack down on immigration. A federal judge blocked a Texas law that had given college students without legal residency access to reduced in-state tuition. That order only applied to Texas but was seen as an opening for conservatives to challenge similar laws in two dozen states. Such laws were intended to help 'Dreamers,' or young adults without legal status, to be eligible for in-state tuition if they meet certain residency criteria. 'The Department of Justice just won on this exact issue in Texas, and we look forward to fighting in Kentucky to protect the rights of American citizens,' Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. The lawsuits in both states follow recent executive orders signed by Trump designed to stop any state or local laws or regulations the administration feels discriminate against legal residents. The Texas suit listed the State of Texas as the defendant but did not name the state's Republican governor as a defendant. The suit in Kentucky names Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear as one of the defendants. The Kentucky regulation in question appears to have been issued by the state's Council on Postsecondary Education before 2010, Beshear's office said Wednesday in a statement that attempted to separate the governor from the legal fight. Beshear — who was first elected governor in 2019 and is now in his second and last term due to term limits — is widely seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2028. Beshear spokeswoman Crystal Staley said the governor has no authority to alter the regulations of the education council, or CPE, and should not be a party to the lawsuit. 'Under Kentucky law, CPE is independent, has sole authority to determine student residency requirements for the purposes of in-state tuition and controls its own regulations,' Staley said in the statement. Beshear in the past has denounced Trump's anti-immigrant language as dangerous and dehumanizing and has called for a balanced approach on immigration: one that protects the nation's borders but recognizes the role legal immigration plays in meeting business employment needs. Beshear has said he believes that 'Dreamers' should be able to get full American citizens. A spokeswoman for CPE, another defendant in the Kentucky case, said Wednesday that its general counsel was reviewing the lawsuit and regulation but had no additional comments. Kentucky's Republican attorney general, Russell Coleman, said he has 'serious concerns' that CPE's policy violates federal law and said his office supports the Trump administration's efforts. A handful of Republican lawmakers in Kentucky tried to bring up the issue during this year's legislative session but their bill made no headway in the GOP-supermajority legislature. The measure would have blocked immigrants in the state illegally from claiming Kentucky residency for the purpose of paying in-state tuition at a state college or university. The Justice Department suit says the regulation is in 'direct conflict' with federal law by allowing an undocumented student to qualify for reduced in-state tuition based on residence within the Bluegrass State, while denying that benefit to U.S. citizens who don't meet Kentucky's residency requirements. Students from other states generally pay higher tuition rates than in-state students to attend Kentucky public colleges, the suit says. Exceptions exist when a reciprocity agreement with another state allows for reduced tuition rates for qualifying students from that other state, it said. The regulation recognizes undocumented immigrants who graduated from Kentucky high schools as Kentucky residents in conflict with federal law, the suit says. 'It directly conflicts with federal immigration law's prohibition on providing postsecondary education benefits — such as lower tuition rates — based on residency to aliens not lawfully present in the United States that are not available to all U.S. citizens regardless of residency,' the suit says.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What to know about Texas ending in-state tuition for undocumented students
Texas will no longer allow students living in the state who are undocumented to pay in-state tuition following demands from the Trump administration to end the policy. Soon after the federal government sued Texas last week over a state law allowing the practice, Texas quickly asked the court to side with the feds and deem the law unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor's ruling did just that and immediately blocked the law. This is what is known so far about the ruling and its implications. This story will be updated as more information becomes available. Under the 2001 Texas Dream Act, Texas university and community college applicants who lived in the state three years before graduating from high school (or receiving an equivalent diploma) could seek in-state tuition, even if they were not permanent residents or U.S. citizens. To qualify, those students had to sign an affidavit stating that they would apply to become a permanent U.S. resident as soon as they became eligible. More than 19,500 students in the state signed this affidavit in 2023, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. This figure, however, includes not only undocumented students but also students with visas allowing them to legally accompany family members who have been approved to work in the U.S., according to state data. [Undocumented students rethink their college dreams after Texas cuts their access to cheaper tuition] Last week's ruling specifically blocks the Texas law 'as applied to aliens who are not lawfully present in the United States.' Because the Texas Dream Act didn't require tracking a student's immigration status, it is currently unclear how many affidavit signers are undocumented students or how colleges would determine which students no longer qualify for in-state tuition. Students enrolled in summer classes are not yet expected to be affected since tuition bills and financial aid for those courses have already been distributed. The federal ruling blocked the law immediately. The ruling was final, and Texas indicated it will not seek an appeal. A group of undocumented students on Wednesday asked the federal judge in charge of the case to let them intervene in the case, the first step in their ultimate goal to overturn the ruling. If U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor doesn't allow them, they could appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 'The 5th Circuit's obviously a very conservative court, but part of that conservatism is a pretty limited view of the role the courts should play in legislation,' said David Coale, a Dallas appellate lawyer. 'It's a tricky case for them to review.' The organization Immigrant Families and Students in the Fight, which goes by its Spanish acronym FIEL, also said it was considering its options to challenge the ruling. Executive director Cesar Espinosa said last week the group was talking with their lawyers to figure out how to bring a lawsuit. How long a student has been living in Texas is one of the biggest factors in determining a student's tuition, or coursework bill. (Tuition does not account for other college fees and housing and living costs.) Each college sets their own tuition residency criteria, according to the THECB. Community colleges may also offer even lower tuition rates for people who live within their tax district. Students from outside the state or country can, in some cases, pay almost four times more than in-state students. At the University of Texas at Austin, the state's flagship university, the flat-rate tuition for the fall 2025 and spring 2026 semesters costs $15,848 more for an out-of-state liberal arts student taking 12 or more credit hours than it would for a student with similar course work paying in-state tuition rates, according to the university. Tuition also costs $18,765 more for an out-of-state student studying business and $17,713 more for engineering. At Lone Star College in Houston, tuition for 12 credit hours for an out-of-state or international student costs $768 more than for an in-state student, and $2,424 more than for a student who lives within the college's tax district, according to the community college's 2025-26 rates. The Texas Tribune asked the six four-year universities and three community college districts with the most affidavit signers if they will request affected students who had already been billed or made a payment for summer classes to immediately pay the difference between in- and out-of-state tuition; what will happen if they can't pay; and if there will be a grace period. They were the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, UT-Dallas, UT-Arlington, UT-Austin, Texas A&M, University of Houston, Dallas College District, Lone Star College District and Houston Community College. Five schools have responded. UT-Dallas and the UH and Lone Star College systems said they are still working to understand what the court ruling means for their students and colleges. 'At this time, the full impact on UH System institutions and our students remains unclear,' a UH official said. A spokesperson for the Texas A&M University System said officials were coordinating with administrators across its campuses 'to gather information needed to develop an appropriate plan to implement the requirements of the order.' A UT-RGV spokesperson said officials would notify affected students directly, but did not offer specifics. 'Our priority and focus are on minimizing disruption to student success consistent with applicable law and helping students navigate this transition with clarity and care,' the spokesperson said in a statement. The full implications of the ruling may not be known until July or August, said Andrea Guengerich Harper, chief program strategy officer for Breakthrough Central Texas, which helps students who are the first in their family to pursue a post-secondary education. But she worries that students are already getting discouraged from continuing in higher education. 'Regardless of how this plays out in the fall, this is already having a negative impact,' Guengerich Harper said. 'It is uncertainty and fear and will knock students off of these post-secondary pathways that they are already enrolled in and committing to and have been working hard for years towards.' As they await for more information, Breakthrough Central Texas' team has started to help students search for other sources of financial support or lower-cost education options that might fit each students' needs and situation. 'No one should be withdrawing, but I think you know planning is going to be necessary, and so [students should start] to think about what other options they have in terms of cheaper pathways potentially to pursue their same credentials, those alternative ways to access dollars,' said Will Davies, director of policy and research for Breakthrough Central Texas. Taking general courses at a community college may be a more affordable option for new or younger students, but those colleges may not offer the more specialized courses upperclassmen need to finish their bachelor's degrees. Private universities have a single tuition rate for all their students and can offer merit or need-based scholarships or grants to high-performing students. However, they are generally more expensive and selective, making them out of reach for most students, Guengerich Harper said. Some private organizations, such as provide scholarships for undocumented students, including in states where in-state tuition is not an option for them. But Davies said he worries a few foundations or funds won't be able to cover the vast need among undocumented students in Texas. Since Texas became the first state to extend in-state tuition eligibility to undocumented students in 2001, Republican state lawmakers have filed at least 15 bills to undo the state law. While those efforts failed, immigrant rights advocates worried the push to repeal the law would gain more traction during the 2025 legislative session as the Trump administration promised to ramp up immigration enforcement and Texas sought to match its pace. The bill was voted out of committee for the first time in a decade, but failed to advance any further. Immigrant rights advocates' relief was short-lived. They were caught off guard when the Justice Department sued Texas last week noting that U.S. citizens living outside of Texas don't qualify for in-state tuition in the state's public universities. The feds argued that Texas should not offer undocumented students any benefit not afforded to U.S. citizens. The state agreed and asked the judge overseeing the case to side with the federal government, which he did and declared the law unconstitutional. Some legal experts have said the speedy way in which the case was resolved makes it seem like federal and state attorneys colluded to coordinate the outcome. Monica Andrade, an attorney and director of state policy and legal strategy at the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, said the argument that undocumented students were receiving benefits denied to U.S. citizens is false and misleading because, under the Texas Dreamer Act, both groups of people needed to meet the same criteria to qualify for in-state tuition. Since President Donald Trump's election in November, several states have moved to end similar tuition policies for undocumented students, Inside Higher Education reported. In February, Florida passed a law that will eliminate in-state tuition for undocumented students starting July 1. Lawmakers in Michigan and Minnesota also filed similar bills. Meanwhile, some states like Indiana and New Mexico have sought to expand in-state tuition eligibility. The Trump administration and Republicans have sought to end other benefits for immigrants. Under congressional and White House efforts, families with mixed immigration statuses — like those who have some children who are U.S. citizens and parents who are either undocumented or authorized immigrants, like refugees and asylum seekers — could be restricted from accessing programs like Medicaid, Medicare and federally subsidized housing. Texas in recent years has increasingly mirrored Trump's aggressive immigration agenda, increasing its law enforcement presence and building its own wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Disclosure: Houston Community College, Lone Star College, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University System, University of Texas at Austin and University of Houston have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. Big news: 20 more speakers join the TribFest lineup! New additions include Margaret Spellings, former U.S. secretary of education and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center; Michael Curry, former presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church; Beto O'Rourke, former U.S. Representative, D-El Paso; Joe Lonsdale, entrepreneur, founder and managing partner at 8VC; and Katie Phang, journalist and trial lawyer. Get tickets. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Undocumented students rethink their college dreams after Texas cuts their access to cheaper tuition
Even though Jorge and his younger sister are only two years apart in age, their college experiences are headed in different directions. They were both motivated and highly engaged high school students in Central Texas. But after graduation, he went to Austin Community College and had to work three jobs to pay for tuition. She enrolled at Texas State University on a full scholarship. It wasn't academics or ambition that separated the siblings, but their immigration status. Their parents, seeking economic opportunity, crossed the U.S.-Mexico border with Jorge in their arms when he was 1 year old. They had his sister in Austin a short time later. This fall, Jorge hoped to finally be on equal footing with her. The 21-year-old had saved enough money to afford tuition at Texas State and had applied to transfer there to study mechanical engineering. His plans depended on having access to in-state tuition, the lower rate that Texas residents pay to attend public colleges and is often half, or even a third, of what out-of-state students are charged. But the siblings' path may soon split for good. Last week, state officials agreed to the federal government's demand to stop offering in-state tuition rates to undocumented students living in Texas. Jorge is one of thousands of students whose education plans may have been truncated by the ruling. Their aspirations — to become engineers or lawyers, or join other professions — haven't disappeared. But the road has grown steeper. For some, it may now be out of reach. The Texas Tribune spoke to four students who were brought into the country when they were young and are weighing what last week's ruling means for their college plans. They requested anonymity out of fear that being identified publicly could make them or their families a target for deportation. [What to know about Texas ending in-state tuition for undocumented students] The students said they had been on high alert for months, fearing that the Texas Dream Act — the 2001 law that allowed undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition and state financial aid — would be repealed this year as anti-immigrant rhetoric soared with the start of a new Trump administration. Federal officials have set a goal of deporting 1 million undocumented immigrants by the end of this year, and perhaps no state has extended them as much help as Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott said the National Guard can now make immigration arrests. State lawmakers have authorized spending billions of dollars from the state's budget on border security and passed a law this year requiring sheriffs to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And a proposal to end the Texas Dream Act advanced further in the Texas Legislature than it had in a decade. 'This one got further along than I was comfortable with, so I was keeping my eye on it,' Jorge said. The students were relieved when lawmakers ended this year's legislative session without repealing the law, but it was short-lived. They hadn't prepared for the federal government and state officials to turn to the courts to dismantle the long-standing policy. Schools, many of which had already started summer classes, were also caught off guard and have struggled to answer critical questions: What will happen to students who can't pay the difference in tuition? Will they be left with debt and no degree? Students have been trying to find their own answers, with little luck. College access advocates and legal experts say they are still trying to gauge the ruling's implications and whether it can be challenged. Soon after the court announced its decision, Jorge's friends texted him a news article about it. 'I was shocked,' he said. 'I stayed up until 3 in the morning just reading everything I could.' For nearly 24 years, the Texas Dream Act made college more affordable for students like Jorge. The law extended access to in-state tuition rates to university and college students who are not U.S. citizens but have lived in Texas for three years prior to graduating high school and one year prior to enrolling in college. The law required them to sign an affidavit declaring that they would apply for permanent legal residency as soon as they were able. About 19,500 students signed an affidavit to qualify for in-state tuition in 2023. That number not only includes students living illegally in the country but also those who are here on visas, such as those whose parents received work permits and reside legally in the U.S. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which tracks the number of affidavit signers, has told lawmakers the agency does not ask students to disclose their immigration status. Affidavit signers are also eligible to receive state financial aid. Texas GOP senators have expressed concern that those students take an outsized portion of the state aid available, but according to Every Texan, a left-leaning policy research institute, that's not the case. Affidavit signers received $17.3 million of the $635.2 million — less than 3% — of the aid distributed in 2023, the group found. [Texas Republicans pioneered in-state tuition for undocumented students. Now they're celebrating its end.] The law was not controversial when it was passed. It was seen, even by Republican leaders at the time, as a common-sense way to boost the economy. Undocumented students contribute more than $80 million annually to the Texas higher education system and fill vacancies in critical sectors like health care, education and technology, according to the American Immigration Council. But the Tea Party movement and President Donald Trump have pushed the Republican Party, in Texas and across the country, toward a more nativist stance. In 2021, Abbott launched a billion-dollar border security initiative called Operation Lone Star. As part of that effort, he increased the penalty for the state crime of trespassing and directed state troopers to arrest migrants found on private property. Abbott deployed thousands of Texas National Guard members across the state this week to respond to protests against federal deportation raids, which his office says have devolved into lawlessness in cities like Los Angeles. Republicans now argue the Texas Dream Act amounted to a subsidy that deprived U.S. citizens of opportunities. Texans for Strong Borders, an influential anti-immigration group, said the law encouraged people to immigrate to the country illegally. Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas, arguing the Texas Dream Act 'unconstitutionally discriminates against U.S. citizens.' Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a long-time critic of the law, chose not to defend it in court despite his history of suing past presidential administrations for overstepping their authority and infringing on the state's rights. A federal judge favored by conservative litigants quickly ruled in favor of the Justice Department and declared the law unconstitutional. Republicans quickly celebrated the Texas Dream Act's demise. State Sen. Brandon Creighton, the chair of the Texas Senate's education committee and the architect of the state's diversity, equity and inclusion ban and other sweeping higher education reforms, pointed out on social media that he had filed legislation to end in-state tuition for undocumented students multiple times in previous sessions. 'This is a long-overdue win for the rule of law, fiscal responsibility, and Texas taxpayers,' the Conroe Republican said. Critics accused the feds and the state of colluding to eliminate the policy without giving undocumented students and their supporters a chance to push back. The federal government's argument that undocumented students are receiving benefits denied to U.S. citizens is false and misleading, said Monica Andrade, an attorney and director of state policy and legal strategy at the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. [Texas' swift surrender to DOJ on undocumented student tuition raises questions about state-federal collusion] 'In fact, any U.S. citizen who meets the same criteria — such as attending and graduating from a Texas high school — qualifies for in-state tuition. These requirements apply regardless of immigration status,' she said. For Jorge, the political fights over immigration have always cast a shadow over his college dreams. He wants work for Engineers Without Borders, a humanitarian organization that helps establish clean water, sanitation and infrastructure in developing countries. His parents taught him that 'everything that we do has to be for the betterment of the world, because it's simply what we as humans owe one another,' he said. 'The idea of not using education to try to improve the world in some way seems a bit, I don't know, backwards.' Jorge has paid for school himself, starting out working for his father's construction company before taking additional jobs as a waiter and a cashier. His schooling has taken longer than usual because sometimes he couldn't afford to attend full time, even with access to in-state tuition. 'I take pride in the fact that my parents don't have to worry about me being short on bills for school,' he said, 'but when it comes to rent and bills, I am definitely still dependent on my family.' Jorge said he applied to Texas State not because his sister goes there, but because it was affordable. He could keep costs down by continuing to live with his family and commuting to San Marcos for class. Without access to in-state tuition rates, he said, Texas State is anything but cheap. According to the university's website, taking 15 hours in the fall would now cost him an estimated $24,520 in tuition and fees. That's double what he would have to pay with in-state tuition. Jorge still hopes the judge's ruling can be overturned. A group of undocumented students took the first steps in that direction this week by asking the judge to let them intervene in the case. But legal experts say an appeal is a long shot that will likely take months to resolve. In the meantime, Jorge has already started looking into whether he can finish his degree at a Mexican university online. 'I'd like to give more back to this country, but if that's the option in front of me, I can't say I wouldn't take it,' he said. Other undocumented students, even those who have received state financial aid or private scholarships, have also started looking for backup plans. Aurora, a 26-year-old student at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, is racing to finish her psychology degree. She enrolled in as many classes as possible this summer and fall because she was worried the Legislature would repeal the Texas Dream Act. 'A lot of us were already nervous, because we kind of feared that this was going to happen, but we just didn't think it would happen so soon,' she said. a national organization that awards scholarships to undocumented students going to college, provides roughly $4,000 to Aurora each semester. But she'd be at least $6,000 short if required to pay the out-of-state tuition rate. After the court's decision, she wondered if she would have to withdraw from her classes for now. Some students said they felt betrayed. A.M., a 24-year-old recent Texas A&M University graduate, said he wanted to return to the school to pursue a master's degree in public service and administration, but paying out-of-state tuition would be too costly for him. He is also reassessing his options. A.M. lamented that Paxton didn't defend the state law in court, especially after lawmakers declined to repeal it during this year's legislative session. 'It provides a lot of undocumented students with opportunities to fill labor shortages here in this state,' he said. 'And yet, Paxton kind of turned his back on us, on all of us Texans.' Days after the ruling upended Texas' tuition policy, state officials and universities still can't say what happens next, leaving students without much guidance on how to move forward. Fifteen Democrat state representatives wrote to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board last week asking it to create a first-generation resident tuition rate to allow students who benefited from the Texas Dreamer Act to enroll this fall at a more affordable rate. 'This action would not override statute but would provide a critical bridge until the Legislature can return to address the matter,' reads the letter, which state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, posted on social media. Friday evening, the agency replied that it does not have the authority to do what the lawmakers proposed. The Tribune reached out to the nine Texas public universities and colleges with the highest enrollment of affidavit signers and asked them if they would charge those students the higher rate immediately; if students who had already paid in-state tuition rates for summer classes would have to pay the difference; or if students would have any recourse to challenge the higher costs. The University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at Arlington, the Dallas College District and Houston Community College did not respond. It's unclear if any Texas university knows which of their students are undocumented or how they will determine who should now be charged the out-of-state tuition rate. The University of Houston System said it does not require applicants to disclose their immigration status. Other schools — including Texas A&M University, Lone Star College, the University of Texas at Dallas and UT-Rio Grande Valley — did not answer when asked if they do. They said they were still trying to understand the ruling and what it means for their students. UT-RGV officials acknowledged the ruling's likely impact on students' financial plans. 'Our priority and focus are on minimizing disruption to student success consistent with applicable law and helping students navigate this transition with clarity and care,' said Melissa Vasquez, a university spokesperson, in a statement. College access experts worry colleges could start identifying undocumented students to cut off their access to in-state tuition rates, which could expose them to immigration enforcement. In addition, they said, the ruling could set the state back on its goal of having 60% of Texans between the ages of 25-34 hold a certificate or degree by 2030. As of 2021, only 49% of Texans in that age group had done so, according to the most recent data from the Higher Education Coordinating Board. 'We are hopeful that colleges will do what they can to help students complete the path they started,' said Will Davies, director of policy and research at Breakthrough Central Texas, a nonprofit dedicated to helping students from low-income communities become the first in their family to go to college. 'I mean, that's good for all Texans. No one benefits from forcing students to stop out with existing debt and without the credentials that can help them achieve economic stability.' Ale, 24, worked hard to graduate from the University of North Texas with a degree in political science, knowing her efforts might not pay off. She has work authorization and a driver's license via the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was created under the Obama administration and shields some undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children from deportation. DACA, which is also facing legal challenges, allowed Ale to split her week working four days as a hotel manager and attending classes at the University of North Texas in her remaining time. One semester, she and her parents worked extra hours so she could afford to be an unpaid intern for a politician. Now, Ale works for a law firm in North Texas that assists international students who, like her, don't know if they will be able to finish their education in the U.S. She wanted to apply to UT-Austin's law school before she learned last week that the Texas Dream Act was no more. She said she's trying to channel the sadness she feels about her situation into motivating her younger sisters, who are U.S. citizens, to never take their educational opportunities for granted. And she still plans to take the LSAT. 'I'm not going to give up on myself,' she said. Ale isn't alone in that resolve. Jorge said he's going to study Mexican history so he can prepare for the entrance exam at two Mexican universities, Tecnológico de Monterrey and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, where he's considering finishing his degree online. A.M., who wants to use his education to help reform the country's health care system, is looking into moving to one of the 23 states that do offer undocumented students in-state tuition rates and paying for his master's degree there. He feels sad and scared about the possibility of having to move away from his family and friends. 'It's kind of like having to start from scratch, and all the connections I made here, I might not be able to see for a while,' he said. Aurora felt hopeful she'll be able to finish her degree after told her this week she will continue to receive support, even if she decides to transfer to another university. 'I'm still a bit anxious, but at the same time positive because there are people out there who support us,' she said. All four said they are still trying to reconcile what it means to be raised in Texas and yet be told, in rhetoric and increasingly through law, that they don't belong. María Méndez contributed to this story. The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Disclosure: Every Texan, Houston Community College, Lone Star College, Texas A&M University, University of Texas - Arlington, University of Texas - Dallas, University of Texas at Austin, University of Houston and University of North Texas have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. Big news: 20 more speakers join the TribFest lineup! New additions include Margaret Spellings, former U.S. secretary of education and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center; Michael Curry, former presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church; Beto O'Rourke, former U.S. Representative, D-El Paso; Joe Lonsdale, entrepreneur, founder and managing partner at 8VC; and Katie Phang, journalist and trial lawyer. Get tickets. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
CBS News
05-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Texas Dream Act allowing in-state tuition for undocumented students dismantled
For over 20 years, thousands of undocumented students have benefited from the Texas Dream Act. The law gave college students without legal residency access to reduced in-state tuition. "All three of my brothers and sisters are college graduates. We made it, but we are a very small percentage of people who, because of HB 1403, because of in-state tuition, were able to make it," said Cesar Espinosa, a Texas Dream Act recipient. Wednesday, just hours after the Department of Justice filed suit challenging the Texas law, a federal judge blocked the Texas Dream Act, calling it "unconstitutional and invalid." The law was passed in the state legislature in 2001 with bipartisan support. Domingo Garcia who was a state representative at the time and helped write the bill is calling this latest development "mean-spirited." "The recent remarks and actions targeting the Hispanic community in Texas are deeply concerning and do not reflect the values of fairness, justice, and equality that our society is built upon," said Garcia. There have been efforts in the legislature to eliminate the Texas Dream Act. In April, Espinosa was one of dozens of people who testified against a bill to tear it down. "It took me 33 years to get my status. I wanted to get status when I was 5, I wanted to get status when I was 10, I was dying to get status when I was 18 and was accepted to Yale, and Brown and Cornell University," said Espinosa. Many are also highlighting the economic consequences this repeal will bring. According to a report by Every Texan, Texas Dream Act students paid $81.6 million in tuition and fees in 2023. "The Texas Dream Act is one of the rare pieces of legislation that over 20 years people who have tried to come and mess with it have failed because it was designed so well to do what it was supposed to do what it was supposed to do, which is recoup the investment that we make on students," said Jaime Puente, Director of Economic opportunity, Every Texan.
The Independent
04-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Justice Department sues Texas over in-state tuition for students without legal residency
The Justice Department on Wednesday sought to block a Texas law that for decades has given college students without legal residency in the U.S. access to reduced in-state tuition rates. Texas was the first state in the nation in 2001 to pass a law allowing ' Dreamers,' or young adults without legal status, to be eligible for in-state tuition if they meet certain residency criteria. Several states followed suit and have since passed similar legislation. The lawsuit filed in Texas federal court asks a judge to block the law, which some state Republican lawmakers have sought to repeal for years. 'Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,' said Attorney General Pam Bondi said. '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.' About 57,000 undocumented students are enrolled in Texas universities and colleges, according to the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a nonpartisan nonprofit group of university leaders focused on immigration policy.
