Good.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Democracy Forward, National Immigration Law Center, and the Dallas-based firm of Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann filed a motion to intervene today in ongoing federal court litigation — on behalf of La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), the Austin Community College District’s Board of Trustees (ACC), and college graduate student Oscar Silva — to defend the constitutionality of the Texas Dream Act against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
On June 4, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued the State of Texas to block the Texas Dream Act, a 24-year-old in-state college tuition law. Just hours after the DOJ filed the lawsuit — and without time for impacted individuals to express their concerns with the action — Paxton entered into a consent judgment with the federal government.
In 2001, Governor Rick Perry signed the Texas Dream Act, a law passed with bipartisan support that guarantees access to in-state tuition and financial aid for persons (including non-citizens, permanent residents, and visa holders) who graduate from and complete at least three years in Texas high schools. Dreamers must sign an affidavit stating that they will apply to become permanent residents as soon as they have the legal path to do so. The Texas Dream Act honors that Dreamers are part of our communities, invested in Texas, and that, when students are able to pursue higher education, the State continues to thrive.
In 2021, just over 20,000 students signed in-state tuition affidavits, making up 1.5% of students enrolled at Texas public colleges and universities and related institutions. These students add significantly to the overall tax revenue of the state and to the funding that institutions receive. Immigrants who hold a bachelor’s degree make more than double the salary of immigrants who do not hold bachelor’s degrees, which equates to an added $2,151 more dollars in taxes per impacted person. The Dream Act has financially benefited Texas. Without the Act, it is estimated that the state’s economy will lose over $461 million annually.
The DOJ’s order, which was agreed to without proper process, creates sweeping uncertainty for impacted students and colleges and universities as well. As students prepare to attend school in the fall, the failure of neither the DOJ nor the attorney general to defend the Texas Dream Act threatens their ability to afford tuition – and suddenly threatens their dreams of pursuing higher education.
By moving to intervene, these groups and individuals hope to challenge this abusive litigation strategy and defend the Texas Dream Act, which has enabled a generation of Texans to grow their careers and become leaders in our communities.
See here for the background. A group of undocumented students have already filed a motion to intervene, so this is adding on to that effort. I have no idea when – or, honestly, even if – there will be a hearing on these motions. It’s clear to me that these are meritorious arguments, but considering the judge involved, that may not mean much. We’ll see.