The Crisis
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 — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton entered into a consent judgment with the federal government.
The repeal of the Texas DREAM Act has left roughly 20,000 undocumented students in Texas in limbo, effectively punishing them for simply daring to pursue their dreams and lift up themselves, their families, and their communities. Legal organizations have sought to intervene in the law's repeal and are actively fighting the injustice in court (1, 2). However, while they continue to fight for systemic change, students facing fall 2025 registration deadlines cannot wait for their universities and the courts to respond.
Our Response
With the help of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), Texas Students for DEI (TXS4DEI) launched a mutual aid fund in July 2025 to provide relief to undocumented students facing looming registration deadlines for Fall 2025. While this is not a permanent solution, we aimed to ensure that students can continue their education while we pushed for long-term solutions in educational equity and immigrant rights.
IDRA represented SEAT in filing an amicus brief in USA v. Students to defend the Dream Act. Regardless of the fate of this legal battle, undocumented students need immediate support now, not just promises of future institutional changes.
Fund Focus
With 23 applications from students, the fund was able to support 12 students with more than $20,717 crowdsourced from grassroots supporters and the Texas AFL-CIO. We share great appreciation to more than 150 donors.
The fund was solely for enrollment for Fall 2025 and only covered the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition rates. Unfortunately, some applicants who did not yet receive funds decided to unenroll in school because of the unaffordability of tuition after the repeal of the Dream Act. While the fund has closed, we remain committed to ensuring all Texas students have access to education and opportunity.
