Attorney General Jay Jones won a federal court victory in a suit brought by the Trump administration challenging the state’s Virginia Dream Act, which qualifies undocumented students for in-state tuition rates under certain conditions.
The attorney general’s office, when it was run by a MAGA, Jason Miyares, had attempted to invalidate the law through a consent decree with the Trump administration signed as the Miyares folks were cleaning out their offices in January.
“Today’s ruling is a win for Virginia’s students and for our Commonwealth’s future. When I took office, I promised the people of the Commonwealth that I would reverse my predecessor’s position and fight back against the Trump administration’s attacks on our students and institutions of higher education. I’m proud to say that today we did just that,” Jones said, per a statement from his office.
The Virginia Dream Act, signed into law in 2020, qualifies undocumented students for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities in the Commonwealth who:
- attended high school in Virginia for two years
- graduated from a Virginia high school or passed an equivalent exam
- have a parent or guardian that has filed state income tax returns for at least two years before the date of registration
“Students who grow up in Virginia and whose families contribute to the state’s tax base deserve access to affordable, in-state higher education, and this ruling affirms that Virginia is best equipped to make that decision, not Donald Trump. This office will never stop fighting to protect every student who calls Virginia home,” Jones said.
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Chris Graham
