Washington, DC – This afternoon, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had filed four new lawsuits against states’ tuition equity policies for Dreamers, with lawsuits against Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington bringing the total to twenty-one such lawsuits filed in the past two years.
The following are statements from MALDEF, TheDream.US, and the Presidents’ Alliance for Higher Education and Immigration in response.
Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel of MALDEF, which is seeking to intervene in tuition lawsuits on behalf of students in four states: “The latest cases simply continue the Trump administration’s misuse of the court system to continue a concerted campaign of hostility toward all immigrants. If these cases were so urgent, why did the first Trump administration never file a single such case, even though all of the relevant statutes – state and federal – were on the books long before 2017? And if the cases were so legally compelling, why has the department consistently, where politically feasible, filed coordinated consent decree settlements immediately after filing the lawsuits, then sought assiduously to prevent any intervention to defend the tuition-equity laws? The fact is that these cases are part of a shameful and extremely odious course of conduct that will emerge as a long-term drag on this administration’s reputation and popularity.”
According to Gaby Pacheco, President and CEO of TheDream.US: “The latest lawsuits against tuition equity are part of a coordinated assault on Dreamers’ educational opportunity, stability, and safety with harms that extend well beyond Dreamers themselves. At TheDream.US, our 13,000 Scholars’ stories and statistics demonstrate an important reality that flies in the face of these twenty-one lawsuits: policies offering Dreamers the chance to study and succeed aren’t just good for undocumented students, but for the entire nation.
“It’s even more galling that the federal challenge to Arizona’s policy comes after that state’s tuition equity policy was passed by both the state legislature and a majority of Arizonans as a ballot referendum in 2022. The attacks on Dreamers’ educational opportunities are another proof point for why we urgently need a popular federal solution like the Dream Act to ensure Dreamers can fully participate as U.S. citizens in the nation they already call home.”
Miriam Feldblum, President & CEO, Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration: “The administration’s latest challenges to tuition equity policies in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington bring the total number of states targeted by these misguided lawsuits to twenty-one, threatening higher education access and affordability for hundreds of thousands of students. Tuition equity policies recognize a basic reality: shutting the door to higher education wastes talent, weakens local economies, and deprives communities of needed graduates. Undermining these state-level policies creates uncertainty for institutions, disrupts their educational missions, and weakens states’ ability to meet their workforce and economic needs. Our member colleges and universities remain committed to these immigrant students who have grown up in their communities and states and represent the future of our nation.”