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Texas' swift surrender to DOJ on undocumented student tuition raises questions about state-federal collusion
Experts say Wednesday’s action to eliminate the long-standing policy could be a “collusive lawsuit,” where the state and feds worked the courts to get a desired outcome.
Texas’ swift surrender to DOJ on undocumented student tuition raises questions about state-federal collusion| www.texastribune.org/2025/06/09/t...
— Black Intellect (@blackintellect.bsky.social) 2025-06-09T16:58:59.051Z
Link to tweet
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/09/texas-doj-undocumented-tuition-courts-friendly-lawsuit-paxton
It happened fast.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas over its long-standing state law allowing undocumented students to get in-state tuition. The lawsuit was barely on the books before Texas surrendered without a fight, asking a judge to strike down the law — which he did.
The whole lawsuit was closed out within hours, with both the U.S. attorney general and the Texas attorney general taking credit for the ruling.
It’s unusual to see a state work so closely with the federal government to use the courts to overturn a state law the Legislature had allowed to stand, legal experts say. It’s particularly surprising in Texas, a state with a proud history of battling the federal government and staking out aggressive positions on the limited role the feds should have within its borders.....
This session, a bill to repeal the law stalled after passing out of a Senate committee. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the influential leader of the Senate and a longtime opponent of the law, told The Texas Tribune he didn’t bring the bill up for a vote because it didn’t have the votes to pass in the upper chamber.
When the Texas Legislature gaveled out on Monday, immigration organizers breathed a sigh of relief — believing the tuition policy was safe at least until the Legislature returns in two years.
“Less than 48 hours later, we find out Texas has been in cahoots with the federal government to undo this through a backdoor,” said Cesar Espinoza, executive director of Immigrant Families and Students in the Fight, which goes by its Spanish acronym FIEL.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas over its long-standing state law allowing undocumented students to get in-state tuition. The lawsuit was barely on the books before Texas surrendered without a fight, asking a judge to strike down the law — which he did.
The whole lawsuit was closed out within hours, with both the U.S. attorney general and the Texas attorney general taking credit for the ruling.
It’s unusual to see a state work so closely with the federal government to use the courts to overturn a state law the Legislature had allowed to stand, legal experts say. It’s particularly surprising in Texas, a state with a proud history of battling the federal government and staking out aggressive positions on the limited role the feds should have within its borders.....
This session, a bill to repeal the law stalled after passing out of a Senate committee. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the influential leader of the Senate and a longtime opponent of the law, told The Texas Tribune he didn’t bring the bill up for a vote because it didn’t have the votes to pass in the upper chamber.
When the Texas Legislature gaveled out on Monday, immigration organizers breathed a sigh of relief — believing the tuition policy was safe at least until the Legislature returns in two years.
“Less than 48 hours later, we find out Texas has been in cahoots with the federal government to undo this through a backdoor,” said Cesar Espinoza, executive director of Immigrant Families and Students in the Fight, which goes by its Spanish acronym FIEL.
This was a stunt by Paxton and Abbott to get rid of this policy after failing to do so in the Texas Legislature
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