A federal judge has ruled against the Texas Dream Act, which allowed undocumented students to access reduced in-state tuition rates in Texas public universities. The law, passed in 2001, had enabled those with illegal immigration status to qualify for benefits if they met residency and educational requirements. Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Department of Justice argued successfully that the provisions of the law violated the Supremacy Clause, asserting that it unconstitutionally favored undocumented immigrants over U.S. citizens. This ruling reflects a shift in the legal landscape surrounding tuition equality and immigration policy in Texas.
Undocumented students will no longer have access to reduced tuition rates at Texas public universities, as legal residents do. A federal judge has struck down a law that favored foreign students for more than 20 years.
Known as the Texas Dream Act, the law, passed in 2001, allowed students without legal immigration status to apply for reduced in-state tuition. District Judge Reed O'Connor found it unconstitutional.
The challenged provisions, as applied to aliens not lawfully present in the United States, violate the Supremacy Clause and are unconstitutional and invalid, the Court stated.
Attorney General Ken Paxton emphasized that the measure provided benefits to undocumented immigrants that were unavailable to U.S. citizens, marking the end of a discriminatory and un-American provision.
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