Trump DOJ Shuts Down Texas Tuition Perk for Illegal Immigrants After Filing Federal Complaint

Texas officials will halt in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants following a legal challenge from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

The decision came just hours after the DOJ filed a federal complaint seeking to block the state’s long-standing policy that offered lower tuition rates to individuals living in the country illegally.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Northern District of Texas, targets the State of Texas and several state officials.

The complaint argues that Texas laws mandating in-state tuition for illegal immigrants directly violate federal statutes and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

“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,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to Fox News.

“Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens.”

The complaint specifically challenges the Texas Dream Act, a law enacted in 2001 under then-Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican.

The legislation allowed noncitizens to qualify for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities if they graduated from a Texas high school and met residency and academic requirements, regardless of immigration status.

According to the DOJ, federal law prohibits public colleges from offering benefits to illegal immigrants that are not equally available to all U.S. citizens.

This includes reduced tuition rates at public universities.

The legal action stems from two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump after returning to the White House in January.

The first, titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders,” directs federal agencies to prevent public benefits from going to non-qualified immigrants, according to Fox News.

The second, “Protecting American Communities From Criminal Aliens,” calls on federal officials to stop enforcement of state laws that favor illegal immigrants over U.S. citizens.

The DOJ’s move signals a broader federal crackdown on what it views as state policies that provide illegal immigrants with advantages over American citizens.

The complaint seeks a court order to stop enforcement of the Texas statute, stating that it unlawfully compels public colleges to offer in-state tuition to individuals who are in the country illegally.

The Texas law was initially introduced in response to a 1982 Supreme Court decision guaranteeing access to public primary and secondary education regardless of immigration status.

However, post-secondary institutions were not bound by the same ruling, and nonresident tuition rates became a barrier for many students without legal status.

Before the law passed, students who graduated from Texas high schools but lacked legal immigration status were required to pay out-of-state or international tuition rates at public colleges, significantly limiting their access to higher education.

In a swift response to the DOJ’s legal action, Texas officials indicated they would comply with federal law and discontinue the tuition benefit.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s office has not yet issued a formal statement on the development.

The case is expected to move forward in federal court as the administration continues its efforts to align state policies with federal immigration law.