“Harmful and Self-Defeating” – TheDream.US and Presidents’ Alliance Responds to DoJ Lawsuit Against Texas In-State Tuition for Dreamers

Dallas, TX – The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas over its in-state tuition law, the Texas Dream Act. In response, TheDream.US and The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration have issued the following statement.

Gaby Pacheco, President and CEO of TheDream.US stated:

“Since it was signed into law by Republican Governor Rick Perry in 2001, the Texas Dream Act in-state tuition policy has provided higher education opportunities, economic mobility, and hope to thousands of Texas Dreamers. And as our statistics and stories of Texas TheDream.US Scholars make clear, expanding opportunities for Dreamers has strengthened all of Texas in the process.

While we review the language in today’s lawsuit and huddle with legal allies on potential next steps, we already know today’s announcement from DoJ is harmful and self-defeating for the future of Texas.

Our Texas TheDream.US Scholars arrived in the state at the average age of just four years old. They have grown up in Texas communities, thrived and graduated from Texas K-12 schools, and, thanks to the Texas Dream Act, have studied and succeeded on Texas college campuses, with hundreds now putting their degrees to work as teachers, nurses, engineers, and Fortune 500 employees in Texas. Unlike their U.S.-born classmates, Dreamers cannot access federal financial aid. Access to in-state tuition is often the only way they can afford to pursue their education and fulfill their potential.

Harming Texas Dreamers’ abilities to access higher education and put their degrees to work for the state and our nation is self-defeating, harmful both to these students’ futures but also the future of Texas.”

Miriam Feldblum, President and CEO of the Presidents’ Alliance, noted:

“The Department of Justice’s lawsuit challenging Texas’s in-state tuition policy is fundamentally flawed and misrepresents how these policies work.

To suggest that undocumented students are receiving benefits denied to citizens is false and misleading. In fact, any U.S. citizen who meets the same criteria—such as attending and graduating from a Texas high school —qualifies for in-state tuition. These requirements apply regardless of immigration status.

Efforts to cast these policies as preferential treatment ignore the reality that they promote fairness and recognize students’ deep ties to their communities. During its most recent session, the Texas Legislature declined to repeal this law, affirming the state’s commitment to expanding opportunity and investing in all students who have worked hard and call Texas home. States have long had the authority to set in-state tuition policies like the one in Texas. Actions to penalize states for expanding access to higher education are misguided and harmful, undermining individual aspirations and weakening the economic future of our states and nation.”