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Advocacy in Texas

Support Dreamers, Strengthen Texas

A Step Backwards for Texas in 2025

For decades, in-state tuition access in Texas has been a lifeline for Dreamers—opening doors to higher education and fueling Texas’ economic growth, innovation, and workforce.

Texas was the first state in the nation to pass a tuition equity policy in 2001, demonstrating bipartisan leadership and a long-standing commitment to investing in students who graduate from Texas high schools. That leadership set a national example.

Previously, Texas was one of 25 states that provided access to in-state tuition for undocumented high school graduates. According to the latest data from the Migration Policy Institute and the Presidents’ Alliance, Texas graduates the largest number of undocumented high school students in the country each year—approximately 12,000 students annually, representing roughly 16% of all undocumented high school graduates nationwide.

Today, an estimated 73,379 undocumented students are enrolled in Texas higher education institutions, making Texas the #2 state in the nation for undocumented college enrollment (behind California). Of these students:

  • 27,286 are DACA-eligible
  • 46,093 are not DACA-eligible

In June 2025, the Texas legislature failed to repeal the Texas Dream Act, affirming long-standing bipartisan support for the policy. Two days later, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit challenging the policy with the support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Within hours, a district judge issued an order effectively ending the policy—going against Texans’ desires and disrupting educational trajectories for thousands of Texas students.

These actions don’t just hurt Dreamers. It hurts all of us.

According to the American Immigration Council, rescinding Texas’ tuition equity policy could cost the state an estimated $461 million annually in lost economic activity.

Dreamers came here as kids. They played in our neighborhoods, sat in our classrooms, and worked hard to graduate—just like everyone else. Yet, through no fault of their own, they remain stuck in legal limbo. In Texas alone, there are approximately 745,000 Dreamers—defined as individuals (of any age) who entered the U.S. before turning 18 and do not have firm legal status.

While we push for Texas to restore this policy, we also know that access to education is not enough. Ultimately, we need a federal solution.

Texans must demand action—now.

Our representatives in Washington, DC must finally deliver permanent protections for Dreamers.

Dreamers deserve more than temporary policies and political delays. They deserve the freedom to live without fear, to fully belong in the communities they’ve grown up in, and to participate openly in the life of this state.

That means the ability to:

  • Live with stability and dignity 
  • Attend school as Texas residents 
  • Access to driver’s licenses for work and mobility.
  • Work legally and build careers 
  • Contribute fully to Texas’s economy, culture, and civic life 

Dreamers are not outsiders—they are Texans. They are our classmates, coworkers, neighbors, and future leaders. They are already woven into the fabric of this state. 

Temporary solutions are not enough. Fear is not policy. Delay is not leadership. 

Dreamers belong in Texas. They belong in America. And Congress must act—once and for all. 

Calls to Action:

  1. Combat false narratives: Share this video and page widely across your networks.
  2. Contact your legislators: Tell your members of Congress to support a permanent solution for Dreamers—not temporary fixes.
  3. Support students directly: Donate to our Texas Scholarship Fund. https://www.thedream.us/give/
  4. Make it personal: If you are a Dreamer, share your story, and if you know a Dreamer, share why they matter to you and our community.

Resources:

  • “Together For Dreamers”: TheDream.US comments to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (September 2025) HERE.
  • “Harmful and Self Defeating” – Read the joint statement from TheDream.US and the Presidents’ Alliance following the DoJ lawsuit against Texas Dream Act (June 2025): HERE
  • TheDream.US and Presidents’ Alliance written testimony before Texas Senate Education Committee (April 2025): HERE
  • Protecting Tuition Equity: A Playbook for State Coalitions and Higher Education: HERE

Data:

Texas is home to our second-largest community of Scholarship recipients, with more than 2,100 TheDream.US Scholars studying and graduating across the state.

In-state tuition and state aid have been the difference between access and exclusion. It allows students who grew up in Texas and graduated from Texas high schools to attend college, complete degrees, and enter the workforce.

That is what fairness and opportunity look like for Texas.

Check out our TEXAS NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP SNAPSHOT 2025-2026