FEDERAL PREEMPTION: Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) does not preempt Texas law charging out-of-state citizens higher tuition than Texas residents, including noncitizens not lawfully present in the country.
Young Conservatives of Tex. Found. v. Smatresk, 2023 WL 4419365 (5th Cir. July 10, 2023)
The IIRIRA’s express preemption provision directs that “an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State . . . for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit . . . without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.”
Undocumented immigrants in Texas are eligible for in-state tuition so long as they meet residency requirements.