ACLU of Texas, Partners Again Urge U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit To Give Texas Dreamers Their Day in Court

CONTACT:
Kristi Gross, ACLU of Texas, [email protected]
Texas Civil Rights Project, [email protected]

AUSTIN, TX — The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Democracy Forward, National Immigration Law Center, and the Dallas-based firm of Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann today filed a petition for rehearing en banc at the Fifth Circuit today on behalf of La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), the Austin Community College District’s Board of Trustees (ACC), and graduate student Oscar Silva. The petition requests the Fifth Circuit to reconsider a divided panel decision that upheld a decision to invalidate the Texas Dream Act.

On June 4, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued the State of Texas to block the Texas Dream Act, an in-state college tuition law passed with bipartisan support in 2001. The Dream Act guaranteed access to in-state tuition and financial aid for persons (including non-citizens, permanent residents, and visa holders) who meet certain eligibility requirements, including graduating from and completing at least three years in Texas high schools. The Dream Act enabled a generation of Texans to grow their careers and become leaders in our communities.

However, just six hours after the DOJ filed the lawsuit—and without time for impacted individuals to defend the Dream Act—Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton entered into a consent judgment with the federal government. The consent judgment ended the Texas Dream Act and circumvented the will of the Texas Legislature.

This has created sweeping uncertainty for impacted students, colleges, and universities.

On June 24, 2025, the ACLU of Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Democracy Forward, National Immigration Law Center, and Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann filed a motion to intervene. The motion asked that the district court allow LUPE, ACC, and Oscar to challenge this abusive litigation strategy and to defend the constitutionality of the Texas Dream Act. The district court denied their motion, and they appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In July 2026, in a 2-1 divided panel decision, the Fifth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals denied the appeal, leaving the district court/lower court ruling enjoining the state law in place. The en banc petition asks the entire Fifth Circuit to review the case. The petition also highlights the exceptional importance of the legal issues at stake, including using the court system to end a decades-old law increasing education access across the state.

“Texas is stronger when every young person, regardless of citizenship status, has the opportunity to learn and reach their full potential,” said Rochelle Garza, president of the Texas Civil Rights Project. “Texas’ in-state tuition law was in effect for more than two decades, and the Texas Civil Rights Project will continue to fight to ensure it is restored for future generations of Texans. We are proud to stand with Texas Dreamers and fight back against the federal government’s vicious sue and settle strategy, which clearly aimed to reject the will of the people by overturning a law that was upheld across every state legislative session since its inception.”

“By challenging this collusive litigation, we are not only fighting to restore a decades-old law that has allowed tens of thousands of students to thrive, but we are also continuing to fight for the right of every individual, regardless of their immigration status, to pursue an accessible and affordable higher education,” said Kassandra Gonzalez, senior attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project.

“We hope that our petition is granted and that the entire Fifth Circuit will allow us to intervene and defend the constitutionality of the act,” said Luis Castillo Vela, director of communications of LUPE. “However, La Unión del Pueblo Entero will not stop fighting for access to higher education for every Texan, regardless of their immigration status.”