Austin, Texas (AP) – For 20 years on the University of Texas campus, it was a resilient law facing the Republican squeeze immigration agenda: in-state tuition prices for students who do not have statutory resident status.
But in a flash, the first kind of Texas policy in the United States was suspended on Wednesday, blocked by a federal judge hours after the Justice Department sued to dismantle it. Republican Texas leaders were enthusiastic about it rather than fighting the challenge.
Surprise and quick ending Immigration advocates and Democrats were surprised by what is known as the “Texas Dream Law.” Republicans cheered on the outcome, with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondy suggesting that states with similar teaching policies could face similar behavior.
The Lighting Judgment ended Texas policies that enjoyed bipartisan support when it was written in 2001, with tens of thousands of students enrolled in college and similar laws in two dozen states.
What should you know about this:
Texas Laws and Impacts
Texas tuition policy was initially passed by a clean, bipartisan majority in the state legislature and was signed into law by the then GOV. Republican Rick Perry is a way to open access to higher education for lawless, nonresident students who already live in the state. At that time, and now, supporters say they have boosted the state’s economy by creating a more educated and better prepared workforce.
By law, students without a legal resident status could qualify for in-state tuition if they lived in Texas for three years before graduating from high school, or if they lived in Texas for a year before enrolling in college. They also had to sign an affidavit pledging to apply for legal resident status as soon as possible.
Texas has around 57,000 eligible students enrolled in public universities and universities. The President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigrationa nonpartisan nonprofit group of university leaders focused on immigration policy. The state has approximately 690,000 students in public universities in total.
The difference in tuition fees is substantial.
For example, University of Texas Rio Grande Valleya campus of 34,000 students along the border with Mexico, will pay a basic tuition fee of approximately $10,000 on the minimum full-time class schedule for next school year. Non-resident students will pay $19,000.
“UTRGV understands that consent decisions may affect financial plans already made by individual students,” the school said in a statement Thursday. “Our priorities and focus are to minimize disruptions to student success that are consistent with applicable law and to help students navigate this transition with clarity and care.”
Political pushback and quick ending
The law has been largely unchallenged for years, but it has been attacked as debates over illegal immigration intensified. In the 2012 Republican presidential primary, Perry apologized after critics saying he had “no heart.”
The law withstanded several abolition efforts in Republican-controlled Congress. The repeal bill did not even receive a vote in the legislative session that ended June 2nd.
But x quickly fell. On Wednesday, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit calling the law unconstitutional. Attorney General Ken Paxton, a major Trump ally, has filed an allegation in court that he chose not to defend the law and agreed that it should not be enforced instead.
As the national administration coincided with the Trump administration, the law was suddenly overthrown by federal judges, even debates over the merits of the lawsuit and responses from affected students.
Trump, immigration, higher education
The Trump administration challenged border state laws that Governor Greg Abbott, Paxton and Republican leaders had given him full support in his immigration crackdown efforts and tried to help billions of people.
The ruling also expanded Trump’s efforts. It will affect higher education Nationwide. The administration is using federal funds Student Visa Bureau Clamp down Campus Activism Stamp out Diversity, Equality, and Inclusive Initiatives.
Impact beyond Texas
The ruling only affected Texas law, but with almost half of the US having similar policies, Bondy suggested that the administration could pursue similar actions elsewhere. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill in July to repeal that state’s law.
“It should be noted that other states continue to file positive lawsuits to rectify unconstitutional state laws discriminating against American citizens,” Bondy said.
Immigration attorneys and education advocates said they are assessing whether there is legal action to challenge the Texas ruling.
“No doubt our supporters, students, or campuses are not going to take this,” said Miriam Feldblum, president and CEO of the Presidential Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. “But I’m sure I’ll have an effort to do this (other places).
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