- The Department of Justice sued the State of Texas yesterday, challenging state laws that allow illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition rates
- The lawsuit was quickly resolved with a joint agreement prohibiting Texas from enforcing the challenged state statutes
- Republican state lawmakers, including State Senate Education Committee Chairman Brandon Creighton and State Representative Pat Curry, applauded the agreement
The long-controversial practice of allowing illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition rates at Texas public universities will be coming to an end as a result of an agreement reached between state and federal officials yesterday.
The agreement was finalized shortly after the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas in federal court yesterday, alleging that certain sections of the Texas Education Code, which allow students in the country illegally to be eligible for in-state tuition rates, violate federal law.
“Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens. 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,” said United States Attorney General Pam Bondi in a statement issued by the Department of Justice.
Attorneys representing the state and federal governments did not waste any time resolving the lawsuit, quickly filing a joint motion for entry of a consent judgment that prohibits Texas from charging in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants.
The joint motion concedes that sections of the Texas Education Code violate federal law.
“In 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,” reads one section of the joint motion.
Another section of the joint motion states, “The Parties agree that federal law at 8 U.S.C. § 1623(a) expressly preempts the Texas Education Code provisions—§§ 54.051(m), 54.052(a)—that grant benefits to aliens, who are not lawfully present in the United States, based on their residency in Texas, that are not available to all U.S. citizens regardless of residency.”
United States District Judge Reed O’Connor granted the joint motion and permanently enjoined the State of Texas from enforcing the sections of the Texas Education Code that allowed illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition rates.
Many Republican state lawmakers celebrated the ruling.
“In-state tuition for illegal immigrants has finally come to an end in Texas—something I strongly welcome after filing legislation to end this practice for several sessions. With a scarcity of state dollars and growing demands, we must ensure every Texas tax dollar is deployed for the greatest benefit. This is a long-overdue win for the rule of law, fiscal responsibility, and Texas taxpayers,” said State Senator Brandon Creighton, the Chairman of the State Senate Education Committee.
“I want to thank President Donald J. Trump for taking bold action by launching a lawsuit to end in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in Texas. This is a long-overdue move to restore fairness and uphold the rule of law in our state. Texas taxpayers should not be footing the bill to subsidize those who entered our country illegally — especially when many legal residents and citizens struggle to afford college themselves,” said State Representative Pat Curry.
