Last week, Texans for Strong Borders President Chris Russo testified at the Senate Committee on Education K-16 in favor of SB 1798, which would repeal in-state tuition for illegal aliens. The bill has not yet passed out of committee for consideration by the full Senate but since the hearing, three Senators (Hall, King, & Hagenbuch), have signed on as co-authors and the bill is expected to move.
Currently, Texas provides in-state tuition and taxpayer-funded financial aid to individuals who have unlawfully entered our country. Since the beginning of this practice two decades ago, the number of illegals taking advantage of this policy has grown to over 56,000, costing Texas $150 million per year.
Essentially, Texas is investing millions of dollars in educating foreign students who have no legal right to remain here after graduation. For every illegal alien whose education we fund, a U.S. citizen is being denied a seat at one of our premier institutions of higher education.
A free education is just one more incentive for citizens of other countries to cross our border unlawfully. Most recent election results have shown that Americans are against illegal immigration and want all illegal aliens deported.
This is especially true here in Texas. In September of 2024, a bipartisan poll revealed that 72% of Texans are against giving taxpayer subsidies to illegal aliens.
In the March 2024 primary, 87% of Republican voters in Texas were in favor of Proposition 4, which called for ending all taxpayer subsidies and public services for illegal aliens.
Russo thanked Sen. Middleton and Sen. Schwertner for their leadership on this bill and closed by emphasizing that it is time to reallocate resources to support Texans and invest in the education of students who will contribute to our state's future.