The Justice Department and the state of Texas settled a lawsuit Wednesday, blocking the state from offering undocumented immigrants residing in Texas the in-state tuition rates for its public colleges and universities.
The lawsuit, which was filed by the Justice Department earlier the same day, alleged that the Texas law – which had been on the books for two decades – is unconstitutional. Federal district Judge Reed O’Connor quickly approved the settlement, permanently blocking the law’s use.
The legal maneuver is another action by President Donald Trump’s administration to reshape universities and further its nationwide immigration crackdown.
“Today, I entered a joint motion along with the Trump Administration opposing a law that unconstitutionally and unlawfully gave benefits to illegal aliens that were not available to American citizens,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement after the settlement was announced. “Ending this discriminatory and un-American provision is a major victory for Texas.”
“Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” US Attorney General Bondi said in a statement earlier Wednesday when the suit was first filed. “The Justice Department will relentlessly fight to vindicate federal law and ensure that U.S. citizens are not treated like second-class citizens anywhere in the country.”
According to the Texas Tribune, the now struck-down law allowed undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition if they had lived in the state for several years. Those students also had to sign an affidavit saying they would apply for legal resident status as soon as they could, the Texas Tribune reported.
Lawmakers in Texas had long been pushing to change the state law, according to reports. Last month, the state Senate advanced a bill that would eliminate undocumented students’ eligibility for in-state tuition and require those previously deemed eligible to pay the difference between in- and out-of-state tuition, according to the Texas Tribune.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
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