Twenty-four years after being the first in the nation to roll it out, a major perk for illegal aliens in Texas has vanished after the Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit to stop it and the Lone Star State’s attorney general quickly agreed with the White House stance. Specifically, illegals will no longer be charged the in-state rate for college tuition.
The end came quite suddenly. Within hours of the US Department of Justice filing a complaint in the Northern District of Texas, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a motion asking Judge Reed O’Connor to rule in favor of the DOJ and declare in-state tuition for illegals unconstitutional. On the same day, O’Connor issued an order declaring that discounts favoring illegal aliens over non-Texan American citizens — in contradiction of federal law — violate the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, and permanently blocking Texas from giving such discounts.
Paxton, who’s mounting a 2026 challenge of incumbent Republican John Cornyn to represent Texas in the United States Senate, raced to take credit for the outcome:
“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. Ending this discriminatory and un-American provision is a major victory for Texas.”
In 2001, Texas became the first state to offer in-state tuition to illegals. Back then, Democrats had a slim majority in the state House, but the “Texas Dream Act” had bipartisan support, with only four of 181 legislators voting against it. Republicans bought into the idea that better-educated illegals would bolster the state’s labor force and its economy, and then-Governor Rick Perry gave full support — a stance he had to defend at a Republican debate during his failed 2012 presidential campaign. While this clip stops short, the audience answered with a mix of vigorous applause and hearty boos.
Hellbound and Down 