In June 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued the state of Texas to invalidate the Texas Dream Act—a 20-year bipartisan law that has allowed thousands of Texas high school graduates, regardless of immigration status, to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities for more than two decades. 

Just hours after the DOJ filed the lawsuit — and without time for impacted individuals to express their concerns with the action — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton entered into a consent judgment with the federal government. 

If successful, this abrupt repeal would strip an estimated 57,000 students of affordable access to higher education, threatening their futures and the state’s economic well-being.

A coalition led by Democracy Forward, Texas Civil Rights Project, ACLU of Texas, National Immigration Law Center, and the firm Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann filed a motion to intervene on behalf of La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), a community advocacy group; Austin Community College District (ACC) Board of Trustees; and Oscar Silva, a Texas Dreamer and graduate student who benefited from the Act.

These parties seek to defend the constitutionality of the Texas Dream Act and stop the misuse of the judicial system to bypass legislative and democratic processes.

The Texas Dream Act has provided thousands of immigrant youth with a pathway to higher education, contributing millions to the state economy and improving outcomes for families and communities. As schools prepare for the fall semester, impacted students face uncertainty about whether they’ll be able to enroll or afford tuition.

Timeline

• June 4, 2025 – DOJ sues Texas to block the Dream Act
• June 4, 2025 – DOJ and AG Paxton enter consent judgment hours later
• June 24, 2025 – Motion to Intervene filed by LUPE, ACC, and Oscar Silva with support from public interest groups

The case is U.S. v Texas