Collusion suspected: DOJ sues Texas over allowing undoc students to pay in-state tuition. 6 hours later, Texas caves [View all]

Texas’ swift surrender to DOJ on undocumented student tuition raises questions about state-federal collusion

Experts say Wednesday’s action to eliminate the long-standing policy could be a “collusive lawsuit,” where the state and feds worked the courts to get a desired outcome.



It happened fast.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas over its long-standing state law allowing undocumented students to get in-state tuition. The lawsuit was barely on the books before Texas surrendered without a fight, asking a judge to strike down the law — which he did.

The whole lawsuit was closed out within hours, with both the U.S. attorney general and the Texas attorney general taking credit for the ruling.

It’s unusual to see a state work so closely with the federal government to use the courts to overturn a state law the Legislature had allowed to stand, legal experts say. It’s particularly surprising in Texas, a state with a proud history of battling the federal government and staking out aggressive positions on the limited role the feds should have within its borders.

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The six-hour time frame from the lawsuit being filed to the case being resolved makes it likely this was pre-orchestrated to some degree, said Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University and scholar at the libertarian Cato Institute.


Critics cry foul over Texas’ surrender on undocumented students | The Texas Tribune https://share.google/xazTHnV40dZpky5s1