### Texas Judge Blocks In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students After Two Decades

A federal judge in Texas terminated a 20-year-old policy granting in-state tuition fees to undocumented students, following a legal confrontation where the Texas Attorney General's office and the Trump administration jointly challenged the law.

In a swift decision, Judge Reed O'Connor from the Northern District of Texas invalidated the statute Wednesday, just hours after the U.S. Department of Justice (D.O.J.) filed a lawsuit against the state. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton quickly sided with the federal government, filing a joint motion to halt the law permanently.

The Texas Dream Act of 2001 had allowed undocumented students to benefit from lower in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities. These students, under the law, would pay significantly lower tuition fees, around $10,800 annually at the University of Texas at Austin, compared to an approximate $40,500 minimum for out-of-state students.

Governor Greg Abbott affirmed the termination of the tuition breaks in a social media announcement, emphasizing the cessation of discounted tuition for undocumented students in the state. Attorney General Paxton celebrated the ruling as a victory for Texas, asserting that federal law prohibits schools from offering benefits to undocumented immigrants that are not available to U.S. citizens.

The Texas legislation was originally championed by former Governor Rick Perry, who has historically defended the policy, asserting that it benefited the state by enabling young people to become productive members of society. Despite his past support, the state's political climate has shifted significantly on immigration issues.

President Trump had already signaled his administration's intent to target these types of laws with an executive order in April, directing the Justice Department to identify and act against states offering such tuition benefits to undocumented individuals.

This recent legal action aligns with the Trump administration's stringent immigration enforcement policies, even though a recent legislative push to repeal the Texas Dream Act had failed in the state's Republican-dominated legislature.

The Justice Department's lawsuit claims the Texas law conflicts with a federal immigration statute from 1996 that limits the state's ability to provide such benefits to undocumented residents. The case underscores ongoing debates over immigration policies and education rights within the U.S. legal framework.

Judge O'Connor's one-page order declared the statute unconstitutional without further explanation, effectively ending the tuition benefit that has supported many undocumented students over the past two decades. The decision will likely have profound implications for the tens of thousands of undocumented students pursuing higher education in Texas.