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By Kate Quiñones, Catholic News Agency, June 10, 2025
A federal judge has overturned the long-standing “Texas Dream Act” in a move the state’s Catholic bishops say undermines “just” immigration reform efforts.
After the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state of Texas over the matter last week, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor blocked the law, which had enabled some noncitizens living illegally in Texas to qualify for in-state tuition at the state’s public universities and colleges.
Reed ruled that the law was “unconstitutional and invalid” because it applied to those who were “not lawfully present in the United States.”
Enacted in 2001, the law made in-state tuition available for noncitizen students who graduated from a local high school and had lived in Texas for at least three years prior to graduation, including those who weren’t in the country legally. The law required that students pledge to apply for permanent residency at the earliest opportunity.
Most public colleges across the U.S. offer more affordable in-state tuition for students who have lived in that state for a certain length of time, as their families have paid tax dollars to the state over the years. Meanwhile, students coming from out of state pay higher tuition rates to attend the same schools.
Following the federal lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office would not contest it and filed a motion in support of the federal government’s position, asking the court to rule that the law was unconstitutional.
