Sacramento, California – For nearly a quarter of a century, California has offered in-state tuition benefits to undocumented high school graduates at its public colleges and universities. This policy has opened doors to higher education for tens of thousands of students who might otherwise be unable to afford it. When authorities enacted Assembly Bill 540 in 2001, California became only the second state, following Texas, to adopt such a measure, catalyzing a broader movement that saw over 20 states implement similar provisions. However, recent legal actions initiated by the Trump administration are now casting a considerable shadow over these benefits in California, home to the nation’s largest population of individuals living without legal authorization.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has recently escalated its challenge to these state-level policies. On June 4, the DOJ filed a lawsuit against Texas over its tuition statute for undocumented immigrants, alleging a violation of federal law which precludes those without legal status from receiving certain public benefits. Texas’s subsequent decision not to defend its law, instead aligning with the Trump administration, left approximately 57,000 undocumented college students in the state in an uncertain educational limbo after a federal judge blocked the statute. This was quickly followed by a similar suit launched last week in Kentucky, where the DOJ aims to dismantle a state practice it claims unlawfully grants undocumented immigrants access to in-state tuition. In contrast, U.S. citizens from other states face higher rates. Attorney General Bondi, in a statement regarding the Texas lawsuit, signaled an expansive legal campaign, asserting the Justice Department’s commitment to “vindicate federal law and ensure that U.S. citizens are not treated like second-class citizens anywhere in the country.”
Legal experts in California anticipate that the state’s pioneering law is the next target, viewing it as a matter of “when” rather than “if.” Kevin R. Johnson, dean of the UC Davis law school and an immigration specialist, suggested the White House is likely pursuing “lower-hanging fruit” in more conservative states before confronting California, where “firm resistance” is expected. This looming threat has already rattled undocumented students across California. Osmar Enríquez, a recent Santa Rosa Junior College graduate set to enroll at UC Berkeley, expressed profound apprehension: “If I no longer qualify for lower tuition, I really don’t know what I would do.” The financial implications are stark; the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition can amount to thousands at community colleges and tens of thousands at CSU and UC campuses. Enríquez, who was brought to the U.S. from Mexico at age one, articulated a sense of targeted exclusion: “What I see the Trump administration doing is trying to exclude us. They don’t want us to get educated or to reach positions of power.”…