Justice Department sues Texas over in-state tuition for students without legal residency
Source: AP
Updated 10:40 PM EDT, June 4, 2025
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a Texas law that for decades has given college students without legal residency access to reduced in-state tuition, swiftly ruling in favor of the latest effort by the Trump administration to to crack down on immigration.
The order came just hours after the Justice Department sued to block the tuition policy, which was the first of its kind in the U.S. when it began in Texas in 2001. Instead of fighting a lawsuit brought against Texas, state Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton quickly told the court that his office supported it, paving the way for U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor to issue the injunction.
The result was a court abruptly blocking a Texas a law that some conservatives have sought to repeal for years. The judge’s ruling said that the Texas law as applied to someone “not lawfully present in the United States .... (is) unconstitutional and invalid.” The order only applies to Texas, but it could prompt conservatives to challenge similar laws in two dozen states.
“Ending this discriminatory and un-American provision is a major victory for Texas,” Paxton said. The Texas law was intended to help “Dreamers,” or young adults without legal status, to be eligible for in-state tuition if they meet certain residency criteria. Half the country now has similar laws, but the Trump administration filed the lawsuit in conservative Texas, where Paxton, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and state lawmakers have long sought to support the president’s hard-line goals on the border.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/texas-immigration-university-tuition-residency-justice-department-fc2123d04858dceda32d4637a7260e3d
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