After cutting off undocumented Texas students from in-state tuition through a legal challenge, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking to expand its efforts to deny college students who are undocumented the ability to pay in-state rates in multiple states across the country, report Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Jeremy Roebuck of The Washington Post.
This summer, DOJ filed a lawsuit against Texas for its tuition policy. The state settled the suit within six hours, without allowing any impacted students to provide input. The administration filed similar lawsuits against Kentucky, Minnesota and Oklahoma, Hennessy-Fiske and Roebuck report.
Now that the academic year is starting, Texas institutions are uncertain how to implement the new policy, with the state’s two largest universities using different sets of guidance to determine who still qualifies for lower tuition rates, reports Alexandra Villarreal for The Guardian.
Policy experts warn that the workforce could suffer if talented students can no longer afford the education that will prepare them for careers that propel local economies, Villareal notes.
“It’s so short-sighted in terms of the welfare of the state of Texas,” said Former law school professor Barbara Himes, who collaborated with Texas lawmakers to draft the Texas Dream Act, the law that granted access to in-state tuition to all local students.
Meanwhile, Kentucky has agreed to follow Texas and end in-state tuition for undocumented students as well, reports Mallory Culhane of Bloomberg Law, siding with the administration in its argument that the policy violates the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Clara Villatoro, the Forum’s assistant VP of strategic communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Marcela Aguirre and Jillian Clark. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
‘CONTINUOUS VETTING’ — The State Department released a statement on Thursday saying that all United States visa holders will be subject to “continuous vetting,” reports Karoun Demirjian of The New York Times. The move will put under heightened scrutiny nearly 55 million foreign born who have authorization to enter the U.S., although the announcement did not offer details as to how this would be enforced, Demirjian notes.
DISRUPTION — Daily life in many American communities has changed dramatically since an increase in immigration enforcement, reports a team at CNN. Immigrants “send someone else to shop for them, someone with papers. It has changed everything, even how we eat,” said Lupita Batres, a woman who sells woven accessories at Plaza Fiesta, just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. “People are scared of being arrested just for being outside. There is always this tension, this feeling that something could happen. And it is exhausting,” says Maria López, who sells jewelry at the same plaza.
ADVOCATES OF FAITH — As the federal government has increased immigration enforcement actions in court, Catholic advocates speak out, reports Kate Scanlon of OSV News. Advocates like Father Michael Gallagher, an attorney and Jesuit priest, have visited courts across the country to make sure immigrants understand their rights. Meanwhile, San Diego Bishop Michael Pham — who came to the U.S. as a refugee at a young age— is now speaking out for immigrants and refugees. Pham leads an initiative to offer support to migrants during their immigration hearings, reports Michelle Boorstein of The Washington Post.
CONSTANT RESHAPING — Giovanna Dell’Orto of the Associated Press explores how through the years immigration has reshaped Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The city thrives with a vibrant energy in part because of the contributions of immigrants and refugees welcomed through faith-based resettlement efforts and has moved beyond the quiet imagery from the 1930’s reflected in the famous painting ‘American Gothic,’ Dell’Orto notes. “Cedar Rapids is the best option for me to live the rest of my life,” said Mohamed Mahmoud, a Sudanese neighbor and owner of grocery store.
