The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled July 9 that Texas could not offer in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants under the state’s Dream Act, finding federal law overrides the state policy.
Circuit Judge Jerry Smith said federal law prohibits states from giving discounted in-state tuition, which amounts to a benefit, to illegal immigrants based on residency when the same is not available for U.S. citizens. The Texas law violated that provision, the judge said.
“The district court correctly denied intervention after concluding that they could not plausibly defend the preemption claim,” Smith wrote in the decision. The federal law bars “states from conferring postsecondary education benefits on any illegal alien based on residence unless the same benefit is available to all U.S. citizens and nationals irrespective of residency.”…
Appeals Court Finds Federal Law Prohibits Texas From Offering In-State Tuition to Illegal Immigrants
