Overview

• In late July the Department of Justice and Texas reached an agreement to terminate the state’s 2001 in-state tuition law for undocumented students under a federal Supremacy Clause challenge.
• The DOJ has filed similar lawsuits against Minnesota and Kentucky to block their tuition equity statutes and put two dozen other state laws at risk.
• Undocumented and DACA students in Texas must now pay out-of-state tuition of about $9,000 per semester while Texas Application for State Financial Aid grants remain capped at roughly $8,000 per year.
• Some students have already withdrawn from four-year universities, enrolled in community colleges, or reduced credit hours because the new costs exceed their financial resources.
• Immigrant rights groups and Democratic attorneys general are preparing court interventions and appeals that could take the conflict to the Supreme Court.