A cohort of undocumented students is seeking a voice in the legal arena, aiming to challenge a recent ruling that strips them of their access to in-state tuition in Texas. The group made their plea following a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice against a decades-old Texas statute, which had allowed qualified undocumented students to pay lower, resident tuition rates at state universities. As reported by CBS Austin, the students are looking to intervene in this lawsuit, which was swiftly settled in less than six hours, a timespan their representatives describe as indicative of a "contrived legal challenge."
According to a Fox 4 News report, these students' legal representation argues that the abrupt termination of the Texas Dream Act could lead to an increase of up to 810% in tuition fees for members of the Students for Affordable Tuition (SAT). This cost hike threatens to put higher education out of reach for many, with the stark reality being some students may have to abandon their collegiate aspirations midway.
The statute in question, the Texas Dream Act, was facilitated by the bipartisan efforts and brought to life under Republican Gov. Rick Perry's signature. It has since nurtured the academic dreams of thousands of undocumented students in Texas’s colleges and universities. These students are required to have lived in the state for three years prior to graduating from a high school, as well as for a year before college enrollment, and they must also pledge to apply for legal residency when eligible.
This long-standing provision faces its potential unravelling after a legal agreement between the DOJ and Texas, reported by CBS Austin, came hastily on the heels of a legislative session which saw the failure of Senate Bill 1798, a bill that sought to repeal the state law. The students are represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), whose president, Thomas A. Saenz, condemned the fast-tracked invalidation as "an abuse of our judicial system" and affirmed the right of those affected "to be heard on the legality of the Texas Dream Act."
The case, now contested by the undocumented students, awaits the decision of U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor, who has previously ruled in ways that favored the state attorney general’s office and conservative plaintiffs.
