Emergency Motion to Defend In-State Tuition for Immigrant Students Filed by the Legal Aid Justice Center, ACLU of Virginia, and Dream Project

RICHMOND, Va. – Today, on behalf of the Dream Project, the Legal Aid Justice Center and the ACLU of Virginia filed an emergency motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging Virginia's in-state tuition law for immigrant students. The motion seeks to defend the Dream Project’s ability to carry out its mission and support the thousands of Virginia students who stand to lose access to affordable higher education.

On Monday, the Trump administration sued Virginia over a law that allows students who attended Virginia high schools and whose families pay Virginia taxes to qualify for in-state tuition, regardless of immigration status. The next day, the Commonwealth joined the Trump administration in a joint motion for a consent judgment, thus surrendering without defending the law—leaving students with no voice in court.

"These are Virginia students who grew up in the Commonwealth, graduated from our high schools, contribute to our communities, and made life-altering decisions for their futures relying on a state law that has existed for years," said Rohmah Javed, Director of the Immigrant Justice Program at the Legal Aid Justice Center. "They are Virginians in every way that matters, and they deserve someone to stand up and fight for them. We want to intervene for the court to consider the real-world impact on Virginia students before making a final decision."

“The Attorney General of Virginia has abandoned his duties to defend Virginia law and the people of the Commonwealth, so we must,” said ACLU-VA Senior Immigrants’ Rights Attorney Sophia Gregg. "Attorney General Jason Miyares has sided with the Department of Justice—intentionally working in secrecy and over a holiday weekend—to manufacture a predetermined outcome to deprive Virginian students of not only their futures but their day in court."

Dream Project serves immigrant students pursuing higher education across Virginia. Many current Dream Scholars rely on in-state tuition to afford college.

“The motion by the Trump administration was deliberately filed over a holiday in the dead of night without briefing, without public scrutiny, and without hearing from our scholars and families who would be impacted by this judgment,” said Zuraya Tapia-Hadley, Executive Director of the Dream Project. “Through our students, volunteers, and leaders, the Dream Project contributed to pivotal work to achieve the passage of the Virginia Dream Act. The state and federal administrations are attempting to re-legislate and set aside the will of the people. If we don't intervene, that essentially opens the door for settled law to be thrown out with the wave of a pen via a judgment. Virginia will lose the many talents that our scholars contribute to institutions throughout our Commonwealth. It’s also an existential challenge to the Dream Project and would undermine our core mission, disrupt ongoing scholarship and mentorship programs, and require the diversion of our limited resources to provide crisis support for students facing sudden, severe, and irreparable financial hardship.”

The motion argues that Virginia's law was carefully crafted to comply with federal requirements and that the state's immediate surrender denies students their right to be heard.

If the consent judgment is approved, students could lose in-state tuition status immediately—potentially forcing them to drop out mid-year.

The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia under Case No. 3:25-cv-01067. The Dream Project's motion is available here.

The Legal Aid Justice Center and ACLU of Virginia are providing pro bono legal representation.