“In-State Tuition” No More!
San Antonio, US, Jun 5 (EFE).-
A United States judge invalidated on Thursday a law that allowed college students in Texas to pay tuition fees at state institutions at the same rate as local students’ “in-state tuition,” affecting over 70,000 young people.
This followed a lawsuit filed by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Congressman Joaquin Castro, a Democrat representing San Antonio, said that this ruling “will hurt Texans,” recaling it was Republican governor Rick Perry who passed it back in 2001.
The Northern District Court of Texas declared the legislation “unconstitutional and invalid” following an appeal filed on Wednesday by the Department of Justice, which argued that the state was “unconstitutionally discriminating” against US citizens for the “benefit” of foreigners.
“In-state tuition for illegal immigrants has finally come to an end in Texas, something I strongly welcome after filing legislation to end this practice for several sessions,” wrote state Senator Brandon Creighton, who shared the judge’s order on Thursday.
The state’s governor, the Republican Greg Abbott, argued that the judge’s ruling applies permanently to Texas, home to around 73,000 undocumented higher education students, almost one-fifth of the 408,000 nationwide, according to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal organization.
United We Dream, one of the largest migrant organizations in the US estimates that the ruling would cost Texas an additional 460 million dollars in lost wages due to a weakened workforce. The organization has called for action to reinstate the rule.
“Yesterday’s decision is the latest in attacks against students who have grown up in Texas and call this state home,” the organization said in a statement.
The program, established in 2001 with the passing of a law known as the Texas Dream Act, allowed certain young people who are not US citizens but live in Texas and graduated from a Texas high school to pay the same college tuition as legal residents.
Out-of-state students in the US must pay higher tuition fees (out-of-state tuition) when attending a university in another state. However, this law enabled young people without migration status living in Texas to access higher education at a cheaper local rate. EFE ppc/dgp/mcd
