Liberal Texas groups create fund to help illegal immigrants pay for college 

Several Texas nonprofits have launched mutual aid funds to help illegal immigrant students pay for college after a federal judge struck down a state law allowing them to receive in-state tuition. 

Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) and Texas Students for DEI (TXS4DEI) created an emergency fund called Keeping the Texas Dream, according to the College Fix. 

“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,” the initiative’s donation page said. 

“With the help of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), Texas Students for DEI (TXS4DEI) is launching a mutual aid fund to provide relief to undocumented students facing looming registration deadlines for fall 2025,” it added. 

The fund will not cover all tuition expenses, SEAT leader Hayden Cohen said. Instead, the goal is to lower costs to about the level of in-state tuition. 

“We know many students were going through the summer and had already applied in early classes,” Cohen said. 

Some students were shocked to find even after securing aid to cover in-state tuition through loans, scholarships or other sources, they were charged out-of-state rates – an increase of roughly $15,000 per year. The fund will help bridge this gap, Cohen said. 

SEAT and TXS4DEI are not alone in offering financial assistance. 

On Aug. 3, a coalition of immigrant University of Texas at Austin students and alumni called Rooted began accepting applications for its own aid program. Like Keeping the Texas Dream, the Rooted Financial Assistance Program aims to lower tuition costs for illegal immigrants. 

“The Rooted Financial Assistance Program provides financial assistance to immigrant students at UT Austin who have an immediate, unexpected expense due to circumstances beyond their control,” the group’s website said. 

The top priority is to ensure seniors graduate, said a Rooted leader named Victoria, who refused to tell reporters her last name. 

“We’re going to fight with all we have to get you graduated because you’ve already invested all your time here and put all of your efforts into your education,” she said. 

In June, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor issued a permanent injunction blocking the Texas Dream Act, which had provided in-state tuition to illegal immigrant students at public universities if they met specific requirements. 

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing the law violated federal law by granting tuition benefits unavailable for out-of-state U.S. citizens to illegal immigrants.