Overview
- U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor issued a permanent injunction on June 5 blocking enforcement of Texas Education Code provisions that granted in-state rates to students not lawfully present.
- The Department of Justice filed its complaint on June 4, accusing the 2001 policy of unlawfully discriminating against U.S. citizens and conflicting with federal immigration statutes.
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined the Trump administration’s suit and filed a joint motion to declare the state law unconstitutional hours after the DOJ’s initial filing.
- The two-decade-old statute had allowed undocumented students who met residency and affidavit requirements to pay in-state tuition, benefiting about 57,000 enrollees.
- Officials warned that similar provisions in nearly two dozen other states may face legal challenges as part of the administration’s broader effort to enforce federal supremacy in immigration benefits.