For Immediate Release: August 28, 2026
Contact: [email protected]
Washington, DC – Yesterday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had filed four new lawsuits against states’ tuition equity policies for Dreamers, with lawsuits against Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington bringing the total to twenty-one such lawsuits filed in the past two years.
The following are statements from TheDream.US, MALDEF, and the Presidents’ Alliance for Higher Education and Immigration in response.
According to Gaby Pacheco, President and CEO of TheDream.US:
“The latest lawsuits against tuition equity are part of a coordinated assault on Dreamers’ educational opportunity, stability, and safety with harms that extend well beyond Dreamers themselves. At TheDream.US, our 13,000 Scholars’ stories and statistics demonstrate an important reality that flies in the face of these twenty-one lawsuits: policies offering Dreamers the chance to study and succeed aren’t just good for undocumented students, but for the entire nation.
It’s even more galling that the federal challenge to Arizona’s policy comes after that state’s tuition equity policy was passed by both the state legislature and a majority of Arizonans as a ballot referendum in 2022. The attacks on Dreamers’ educational opportunities are another proof point for why we urgently need a popular federal solution like the Dream Act to ensure Dreamers can fully participate as U.S. citizens in the nation they already call home.”
Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel of MALDEF, which is seeking to intervene in tuition lawsuits on behalf of students in four states:
“The latest cases simply continue the Trump administration’s misuse of the court system to continue a concerted campaign of hostility toward all immigrants. If these cases were so urgent, why did the first Trump administration never file a single such case, even though all of the relevant statutes – state and federal – were on the books long before 2017? And if the cases were so legally compelling, why has the department consistently, where politically feasible, filed coordinated consent decree settlements immediately after filing the lawsuits, then sought assiduously to prevent any intervention to defend the tuition-equity laws? The fact is that these cases are part of a shameful and extremely odious course of conduct that will emerge as a long-term drag on this administration’s reputation and popularity.”
Miriam Feldblum, President & CEO, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration:
“The administration’s latest challenges to tuition equity policies in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington bring the total number of states targeted by these misguided lawsuits to twenty-one, threatening higher education access and affordability for hundreds of thousands of students. Tuition equity policies recognize a basic reality: shutting the door to higher education wastes talent, weakens local economies, and deprives communities of needed graduates. Undermining these state-level policies creates uncertainty for institutions, disrupts their educational missions, and weakens states’ ability to meet their workforce and economic needs. Our member colleges and universities remain committed to these immigrant students who have grown up in their communities and states and represent the future of our nation.”
About TheDream.US: TheDream.US is the nation’s leading organization supporting Dreamers at the intersection of higher education, workforce development, immigration, and advocacy. We’ve awarded over 13,000 scholarships to immigrant youth from 120+ countries and 45 states, with more than 5,000 graduates to date. We partner with close to 80 colleges in 19 states and Washington D.C. to provide scholarships, career support, and access to legal options that help Dreamers break through systemic barriers and achieve social mobility.
Through data, Scholar and Alumni stories, strategic partnerships, and targeted state and local advocacy, we work to expand equitable access to college, professional pathways, and permanent legal status. For more information on TheDream.US, visit www.thedream.us
About MALDEF: Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the “law firm of the Latino community,” MALDEF promotes social change through advocacy, communications, community education, and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrant rights, and political access. For more information on MALDEF, please visit: www.maldef.org.
About the Presidents’ Alliance: The nonpartisan, nonprofit Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration brings college and university presidents and chancellors together on the immigration issues that impact higher education, our students, campuses, communities and nation. We work to support immigrant, international and refugee students, and advance forward-looking immigration policies and practices at the federal level, in our states, and across our college campuses. The Alliance is composed of close to 600 college and university presidents and chancellors of public and private colleges and universities, enrolling over five million students in 42 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
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