Two weeks after in-state tuition for illegal aliens in Texas was ended, a coalition of college students and a pro-illegal immigration group is fighting to bring it back.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on June 4 against Texas for allowing illegal aliens to pay discounted in-state tuition rates reserved for Texas residents via the Texas Dream Act.
The DOJ filed suit in the federal Northern District of Texas before Judge Reed O’Connor. The DOJ asked the court to declare the Texas provisions unconstitutional and to permanently block the state from enforcing them.
Hours after the lawsuit was announced, Texas settled with the DOJ and agreed not to offer discounted tuition to illegal aliens.
On June 11, Students for Affordable Tuition, a group of Texas college students who are in the United States illegally, filed a motion to intervene, opposing the deal.
According to its filing, SAT “exists for the purpose of promoting, advocating for, and ensuring access to affordable higher education in Texas.” This includes preserving in-state tuition rates “for certain students without lawful immigration status.”
Notably, three members of SAT are beneficiaries of the Obama Administration’s controversial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed SAT’s motion to intervene, claiming that ending the program will cause injury to the students.
SAT’s filing revealed just how much taxpayers were shelling out to provide illegal aliens with in-state tuition rates. It claimed that because of the termination of the program, “SAT’s members face increases of up to 810% of their higher education costs.”
The filing also confirmed that in-state tuition has been a magnet for illegal immigration to Texas.
“Relying on guarantees from the State of Texas—for over twenty years—that they would qualify for in-state tuition rates, SAT’s members decided to pursue higher education in Texas,” SAT wrote.
According to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal, there are more than 73,000 illegal alien students in Texas colleges and universities.
It’s been widely reported that the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the U.S. Justice Department are against SAT’s motion.
The DOJ gave Texas Scorecard no comment beyond what U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had already stated. The office also pointed to its June 4th and June 5th press releases on the subject.
Paxton’s office did not respond to Texas Scorecard’s request for comment before publication.
It is now up to Judge O’Connor, appointed by former-President George W. Bush, to decide whether or not to approve SAT’s motion to intervene. If he does, the organization will be able to resist the settlement and participate in appealing it. If its motion is denied, it will still be able to appeal the issue of whether O’Connor abused his discretion by refusing its motion to intervene.
