HOUSTON, Texas–Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced the termination of the state’s in-state tuition policy for undocumented students, ending a provision that had been in effect since 2001.
This decision came after a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, which argued that offering in-state tuition to undocumented students violated federal law by granting benefits not available to all U.S. citizens.
The policy, commonly referred to as the Texas Dream Act, allowed undocumented students who met specific residency and educational criteria to pay in-state tuition rates at public universities.
Texas was the first state to implement such a law, which had since influenced similar policies in other states.
A federal judge sided with the Department of Justice, ruling the Texas law unconstitutional. The ruling permanently bars the state from enforcing parts of the education code that allowed for in-state tuition eligibility for undocumented immigrants.