Lawyers for an anti-immigration organization are challenging a Texas state law that permits illegal immigrant students from studying in colleges and universities at in-state tuition rates, claiming it violates federal law.

An attorney for the Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas, an organization that opposes illegal immigration, David Rogers, said the lawsuit filed on Monday in Harris County District court marks the first direct court challenge of the Texas Law.

Texas is one of 10 states in the country, which have laws providing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants who meet certain criteria which includes graduating from a local high school and pledging to legalize their immigration status as soon as possible.

Specifically named in the lawsuit are the University of Houston, Houston Community college and Lone Star College systems. A spokesman for UH refused to comment on tuesday, citing the pending letigation. HCC officials claimed a copy of the lawsuit was under review by their lawyers. A Lone Star spokesman announced the college was not prepared to issue a statement Tuesday afternoon.

The Houston Chronicle reports that, "in the lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that at least 8,000 illegal immigrants study at Texas colleges and universities at discounted tuition rates for in-state residents or receive some for of state financial aid, saying the statute violates federal law. The lawsuit also requests an injunction barring illegal immigrants from receiving the in-state break on tuition or state-funded financial aid."

Rogers said, "we don't think that taxpayers should break federal law in order to subsidize people who are in the United States illegally."

A University of Houston law professor who specializes in higher education and immigration issues, Michael A. Olivas, said that the lawsuit filed on Monday had been based on a flawed reading of federal statutes and the Texas residency law.

As reported by the Chronicle, "in 2001, Texas became the first state in the country to pass a law that allowed undocumented students to pay in-state rates and possibly receive state financed aid, provided they meet certain criteria."

To read the entire article from the Houston Chronicle, link here:

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