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A coalition of nearly 30 Texas organizations have banded together in support of, at the very least, giving the Texas Dream Act a day in court.
The coalition recently filed an amicus brief with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals asking the court to overturn a June court order ending in-state tuition for many undocumented Texas residents.
"We filed this amicus brief to show that Texans of all backgrounds, of all professions, of all political beliefs and ideologies, of all ages — we all have a stake in both the protection and preservation of our democracy and the rule of law and in the ability of our young people to access and succeed in higher education," said Paige Duggins-Clay, IDRA chief legal analyst.
IDRA, the Intercultural Research Development Association, filed the brief on the behalf of 29 people and groups that Duggins-Clay said represent broad, bipartisan support for the Dream Act.
"We wanted to do that in a very strategic way … to show that it's not just a small segment of the state that that wants and supports this," Duggins-Clay said. "It's business leaders, it's faith leaders, it's Republicans, right? It's civil rights organizations and students."
Members of the coalition include Texans for Economic Growth, multiple CEOs, and teacher groups.
IDRA's brief supports two groups that filed an appeal in August to be recognized as intervenors in the lawsuit. The groups represent students and colleges affected by the end of the Texas Dream Act. The original lawsuit was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against the state of Texas, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton quickly agreed with the DOJ, and a federal judge ruled the matter closed without holding a hearing.
In a statement, IDRA said their coalition filed the brief "to do what Texas state leaders refused to do: defend the Texas Dream Act."
Duggins-Clay said it should be troubling to everyone, regardless of political affiliation, that state and federal leaders worked together to abruptly end a law that state lawmakers supported.
"I don't think it's a coincidence that this lawsuit was announced and resolved two days after the legislative session ended, and ended in yet another defeat of a very fringe effort to repeal the Texas DREAM Act," Duggins-Clay said.
The brief outlines the confusion caused by the court order, with universities defining "lawful presence" in different ways.
IDRA argues that the traditional court process, with hearings, documents, and discovery, serves to define and clarify terms.
"This collusive settlement bypassed legislative authority, stripped thousands of Texas students of their earned opportunities, and jeopardized both educational stability and our state's long-term economic prosperity —with harmful effects that continue to unfold across Texas today," the coalition said in the brief. "We respectfully urge the Court to grant the motions for intervention and allow the Intervenors to defend Texas' lawful educational policy in the face of the Texas Attorney General's abdication of his responsibility to represent the will and interests of the State."
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