Texas Students Struggle as Immigration Crackdown Elevates Tuition Now

(TEXAS) Thousands of students across Texas are dropping classes, freezing plans, or leaving school altogether after a swift immigration crackdown reshaped who can afford college and who can stay in the United States 🇺🇸 to study. The turning point came in June 2025, when Texas repealed the Texas Dream Act, the state law that had allowed certain undocumented high school graduates to pay in‑state tuition and receive state financial aid. That repeal, paired with new federal restrictions on student visas under President Trump, has raised tuition costs overnight for undocumented students and squeezed international students with sudden visa checks and interview suspensions.

Universities say the changes are already reshaping enrollment this fall. Campus offices report waves of students asking for emergency withdrawals, tuition refunds, and gap‑year options. Administrators are preparing for fewer international students on campus and fewer undocumented students in class. Texas schools now expect a 15% drop in international enrollment in 2025 — from about 94,000 to 80,000 — along with a projected $388 million loss in economic activity tied to housing, food, research jobs, and tuition payments that normally support local communities.

The repeal of the Dream Act was felt right away. Without in‑state tuition, undocumented students who grew up in Texas suddenly faced bills that doubled or even tripled. Many describe getting urgent emails from their schools with very short deadlines to upload immigration records they have never been asked to provide. Some had as little as 48 hours to respond to keep their spot. Students say those timelines were impossible for families who needed legal help or who feared sharing sensitive information.

Because campuses handled the change differently, a student’s access to an affordable degree now depends on where they are enrolled and whether their school created short‑term exceptions or not. State leaders frame the policy reversal as a question of compliance with federal law. The state’s move followed a consent judgment between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Department of Justice under President Trump.

The Department argued that federal law bars states from offering in‑state tuition to undocumented students unless the same offer is available to out‑of‑state U.S. citizens. Legal analysts tracking the case say appeals are unlikely to move quickly, so students and schools may live with the current rules for a long time. In the meantime, financial aid offices cannot award state grants to undocumented students who once qualified, and bursar offices are charging the higher nonresident rate.

Policy Shifts Driving the Fallout

• The most direct change is the repeal of the Texas Dream Act in June 2025.
• For more than two decades, the law allowed undocumented Texans who graduated from Texas high schools and met residency rules to pay in‑state tuition.
• With the law gone, bills that once totaled a manageable in‑state rate now reflect the full nonresident price, often two to three times higher.

Consequences for students:
– Many cannot close the tuition gap and are taking on extra shifts at low‑wage jobs.
– Others are switching to part‑time study, which often delays graduation and increases the chance of stopping out entirely.
– Some students plan to transfer to community colleges, but capacity limits and limited program offerings constrain that option.

International students have been hit from a different angle. In 2025, the Trump administration paused student visa interviews, revoked visas for hundreds of students—especially from China and India—and added tighter travel and social media screening. That shake‑up included the sudden revocation and later reinstatement of status for more than 250 students last spring. The episode fueled deep worry across international student circles.

Effects on international students:
– Many canceled summer travel, scrubbed social accounts, or hired lawyers to review past posts and travel history.
– Advisers describe a chilling effect: students who can afford to study in Texas are now looking to other countries or sitting out a semester to avoid risk.
– Students still applying must complete the U.S. nonimmigrant visa application. Official guidance and the online application for Form DS-160 Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application are available through the U.S. Department of State here.

Counselors say the form itself isn’t new, but the added checks and long wait times mean students may miss program start dates or lose scholarships if approvals lag.

Human and Economic Costs Across Campuses

Behind the numbers are lives on hold. Undocumented students who came to Texas as children say they feel singled out and betrayed by a state they call home. Many are weighing options they never wanted to consider.

Student responses include:
– Transferring to cheaper community colleges (limited capacity and program availability).
– Enrolling in online degrees from Mexico to keep learning while staying with family in Texas.
– Attempting to accelerate degrees by taking heavier course loads (risky without steady aid).

International students report constant anxiety:
– Fear that a weekend trip or minor mistake could trigger secondary screening and visa cancellation.
– Avoidance of public events, limited research travel, and a lowered profile on campus.

Impact on research and teaching:
– International graduate students often staff research labs and teach key courses.
– A 15% enrollment drop means fewer research assistants and teaching fellows, slowing projects and affecting faculty hiring and grant timelines.

Financial impacts:
– International students generally pay higher tuition, which helps subsidize programs for all students.
– Losing that revenue, plus the in‑state tuition formerly paid by undocumented Texans, leaves budget holes.
– Schools predict delayed renovations, trimmed student services, and tighter aid for everyone.
– The projected $388 million hit to local economies reflects lost rent, fewer restaurant shifts, and less spending near campuses.
– In some small college towns, fewer students can lead to reduced bus routes and clinic hours.

Texas has long been held up as a state that opened classroom doors to all high school graduates, regardless of status. That history now sits in tension with a broader national trend. Lawsuits and copycat policies are appearing in other states, adding to a wave of fear for immigrant families planning for college.

Counselors and faculty reports:
– Increased requests for mental health support.
– More faculty quietly checking on students after class.
– Advisers building workshops on proof‑of‑residency, transcript options for mid‑semester withdrawals, and safer online profile management.

Universities are trying to respond, even while following new rules. Examples of campus responses:
– Emergency funds for tuition shortfalls.
– Legal clinics or partnerships with outside lawyers for status and travel questions.
– Workshops explaining residency proofs, withdrawal transcripts, and online safety.

These supports are helpful but cannot replace lost access to in‑state tuition or the fear that a visa or policy decision could change again without warning.

Family and Workforce Consequences

Families face painful decisions:
– Many students who planned to finish in two years now face nonresident bills their families cannot afford.
– Parents working hourly jobs consider debt or relying on relatives for help.
– Students drop to one class to retain a connection to campus, but that slows progress and can trigger more fees.
– Many ultimately pause, hoping policies stabilize — and stopping out after a policy shock often means not returning.

Policy analysts warn of longer‑term workforce implications:
– Texas needs nurses, teachers, and engineers.
– Cutting pathways for undocumented graduates and pushing away international students narrows the talent pipeline.
– Business groups warn of future talent gaps as industries expand.
– Supporters of the repeal argue the state must align with federal law and that residents should not subsidize tuition for those without legal status.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the speed of these policy shifts—especially the Dream Act repeal and rapid federal visa changes—has multiplied the shock. VisaVerge notes a slower transition with clear timelines could have allowed students to plan, schools to adjust aid, and employers to prepare for enrollment swings.

What Daily Life Looks Like Now

For students still in class this fall, the daily grind continues but with added strain:
– Some keep backpacks packed with key documents in case an urgent notice arrives.
– Group chats circulate tips on tuition deadlines, fee waivers, and safe travel routes near campus.
– Faculty adjust syllabi to allow more flexibility on attendance and deadlines for students juggling immigration appointments, job changes, and family stress.

The road ahead remains uncertain. Legal challenges to the repeal are unlikely to move fast. International student policy could shift again depending on federal actions, court rulings, or consular backlogs.

What is clear:
– Texas students who once relied on in‑state tuition through the Dream Act, and international students who expected a stable visa process, now face a tougher, less predictable path to a degree.
– For many, that means one more semester on hold — or a different dream entirely.