United States: Wednesday saw a federal judge put a stop to a Texas law that has let undocumented college students pay the less expensive in-state tuition.
The order was issued hours after the Justice Department challenged the tuition policy, which was the first of its type in the country when it started in 2001 in Texas.
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Instead of opposing the lawsuit against Texas, Paxton stated that his office backed it, allowing Judge O’Connor to issue the injunction.
A judge from the Supreme Court caused the blocking of a Texas law that some conservatives have been trying to get rid of for years.
The Texas ban only covers that state, but it could motivate conservatives to fight against comparable laws in many other states, AP News reported.
DOJ SUES TEXAS | The Justice Department on Wednesday sought to block a Texas law that for decades has given college students without legal residency in the U.S. access to reduced in-state tuition rates. https://t.co/kIcbJLy01F pic.twitter.com/Esrj2EM5Uy
— News 4 San Antonio (@News4SA) June 5, 2025
“Ending this discriminatory and un-American provision is a major victory for Texas,” Paxton stated.
The Texas law was created to allow “Dreamers” who fulfill certain rules to pay in-state tuition.
Even so, only half the country has passed laws like that, so the Trump administration sued in conservative Texas, where people like Attorney General Paxton, Governor Abbott, and state lawmakers support the president’s tough approach to the border.
A week ago, a bill to repeal the law was debated in the state legislature, but it failed to go to a vote before the session ended.
The lawsuit depended greatly on Trump’s recent orders aimed at preventing states or cities from passing laws that the administration thinks discriminate against citizens, AP News reported.
“Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to US citizens,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
“The Justice Department will relentlessly fight to vindicate federal law and ensure that U.S. citizens are not treated like second-class citizens anywhere in the country,” it added.