San Antonio – A Latino civil rights organization has filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit that rescinded in-state tuition for students without lawful immigration status in Texas, according to papers filed today.
MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) filed the request on behalf of Students for Affordable Tuition (SAT), an association of students who would be forced to pay higher tuition because of their immigration status. The request to intervene challenges the consent judgment entered between the state of Texas and the federal government to end the Texas Dream Act. Passed in 2001, the act granted reduced-rate tuition to eligible immigrants who attend a public college or university in Texas. In the motion to intervene, attorneys argue that the federal and state governments used a “contrived legal challenge” to circumvent the normal legal process, which prevented sufficient notice or consideration before taking away the benefit so many students depended on.
“Federal courts are public entities, and, absent extraordinary cause, federal courts undertake their work in public, with opportunity for public review and input,” said Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF President and General Counsel. “What happened last week – the invalidation of longstanding state law in the course of one afternoon – was an abuse of our judicial system; those affected by the attempted invalidation have the right to be heard on the legality of the Texas Dream Act.”
At issue is a lawsuit filed on June 4 by the U.S. Department of Justice against the state of Texas, alleging that the Texas Dream Act violated the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. Rather than oppose the lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott joined the DOJ in asking a district court to invalidate the law, arguing that it violated the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. A few hours later, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor declared the law unconstitutional and invalid without holding a hearing or giving the public an opportunity to weigh in.
“In one day, the executive branches of the state of Texas and the United States of America agreed to end a 2001 Texas law that promised lower tuition rates to certain students without lawful immigration status in Texas,” said MALDEF Attorney Fernando Nuñez. “It is an abrupt reversal that has jeopardized the dreams of many students in Texas, who now face tough decisions about continuing their education.”
The intervener, SAT, is an unincorporated association of students without lawful immigration status who attend public colleges and universities in Texas. The rescission of the law would make it prohibitive for many of the students to continue their education. Without the reduced tuition afforded by the Texas Dream Act, they could face an increase in costs of up to 810 percent. In some cases, tuition rates will increase from $50 per semester credit hour to $455 per semester credit hour. As a result, many students may delay graduation or withdraw from their program altogether.
The motion to intervene was filed in the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, Wichita Falls Division.
Read the motion HERE.