Texas Migrants Attempt to Revive Fight Over In-State Tuition End

Migrant college students in Texas are asking a federal court for permission to appeal a bombshell ruling that ended in-state tuition for noncitizens after two decades.

Students for Affordable Tuition in a filing Wednesday say it’s only fair to let them appeal after the Trump Administration and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) joined forces on June 4 to quickly end the tuition rate before any-third party had an opportunity to object.

Letting the students appeal will “ensure a true adversarial process and a fair consideration of the validity of the challenged provisions,” their lawyer, Nina Perales, of Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, wrote in the brief.

The students now face increases of up to 810% of their higher education costs, the filing says, with some rates rising from $50 per semester credit hour to $455.

Affected members include a third-year student at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley who is planning to attend medical school.

“He will almost certainly not pursue a medical doctorate if he is forced to pay higher tuition rates,” the filing says.

The move by Trump and Paxton sparked cries of collusion, as the lawsuit was brought in one of the state’s single-judge divisions and came just two days after the Texas Legislature ended their biennial session and didn’t approve a bill that would’ve stopped the reduced tuition rate.

Rather than defend Trump’s challenge to the 2001 tuition rate law, Paxton quickly filed a response saying he agreed that it was unconstitutional. Together, they asked Judge Reed O’Connor of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas to end it.

O’Connor, a George W. Bush appointee considered among the most conservative judges in Texas, granted the request and closed the case, within hours of Trump filing the suit.

The student’s request to appeal that decision is opposed, meaning Trump or Paxton is likely to follow with a response arguing that O’Connor’s ruling can’t be reviewed.

The case is United States v. Texas, N.D. Tex., No. 7:25-cv-00055, 6/11/25.