It's Sad This Case Got That Far, But It Was a Good Day for the Rule of Law in Texas

It’s unfortunate this has happened, but unfortunately, Texas will be unable to offer in-state tuition to illegal aliens after a ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Why it ever got this far in the courts is beyond me, but the rule of law has spoken (via KRGV):

A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected an effort to defend the Texas Dream Act, leaving in place a ruling that ended a longstanding state law that allowed some undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals court said advocacy groups, Austin Community College and a student could not step into the case to defend the Texas Dream Act because federal law bars states from giving undocumented students a tuition benefit based on residency unless the same benefit is available to all U.S. citizens, regardless of where they live.

The law allowed students who attended and graduated from high school in Texas to pay in-state tuition, even if they did not have legal immigration status.

Gov. Greg Abbott praised the ruling on X, saying Texas and the Trump administration's Justice Department “just secured another major victory for the rule of law.”

Marco Julian Gonzalez, a University of Texas at Austin business student whose fraternity and sister sorority filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the students working to preserve the Texas Dream Act, said he was disheartened by the ruling and wondering what steps they could take next.

“We know who these people are and we know who they are not, and when you have politicians go on the airwaves and call our friends criminal illegal aliens we take offense and that kept us motivated to keep going,” Gonzalez said.

Judge Smith said the case turns on the plain text of federal law, which bars states from giving in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants based on residency unless the same benefit is available to all U.S. citizens regardless of where they live. Texas's law did exactly that.

— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) July 9, 2026

Read the ruling here: https://t.co/hZSC7osDNm

— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) July 9, 2026

Sounds like there needs to be an ICE raid at the University of Texas at Austin, right?

If you come here illegally, life shouldn’t be made easier for you. Sorry, that’s not how this works. Come here the right way or be sent back. 

Editor’s Note: We voted for mass deportations, not mass amnesty. Help us continue to fight back against those trying to go against the will of the American people. 

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