Officials in Texas quickly changed their policy of offering in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants just hours after the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state for allegedly violating federal law.

The DOJ complaint, filed Wednesday, targeted the state’s long-time policy of allowing nearly 20,000 undocumented students to pay lower tuition at state universities. Upon the DOJ announcement of the lawsuit, state officials moved to have the 24-year-old law abruptly ended, asking the U.S. District Court to side with federal authorities and find the law unconstitutional and place an immediate block, according to the Texas Tribune.

“Ending this discriminatory and un-American provision is a major victory for Texas,” the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, said in a statement Wednesday night, echoing a statement from Attorney General Bondi released earlier in the day.

“Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” she said. “The Justice Department will relentlessly fight to vindicate federal law and ensure that U.S. citizens are not treated like second-class citizens anywhere in the country.”

The lawsuit, filed in the Wichita Falls division of the Northern District of Texas, was heard by Judge Reed O’Connor — an appointee of President George W. Bush who has long been a favorite judge of the Texas AG’s office and other conservative plaintiffs.

The quick succession of the law’s repeal appears to be a bit of legal wrangling from the DOJ and Mr. Paxton after a bill in the state senate introduced earlier this year stalled before reaching the floor.

Senate Bill 1798 aimed to repeal the law and require students to pay the difference between in- and out-of-state tuition if misclassified. Universities could withhold diplomas if the difference wasn’t paid within 30 days of notification unless the diploma had already been granted.

Lawmakers in Texas have tried to repeal the law before. As recently as 2022, a district court ruled that federal law prevented the University of North Texas from offering undocumented immigrants an educational benefit not available to all American citizens. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case on procedural grounds.

A state senator of Galveston, David Mayes Middleton, who is running for Attorney General next year as Mr. Paxton vacates the seat for a U.S. Senate run, authored the legislation aiming to prevent universities from allocating funds for scholarships, grants, or financial aid to undocumented students.

“I’m glad to see this lawsuit,” he said in a post on X after the DOJ’s lawsuit was announced. “Now, I hope the State settles this lawsuit, and as part of the settlement, agrees to finally end subsidized in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.”

Immigrant Families and Students in the Fight, an advocacy organization, released a statement claiming it would challenge the court’s ruling.

“Without in-state tuition, many students who have grown up in Texas, simply will not be able to afford three or four times the tuition other Texas students pay,” Executive Director Cesar Espinosa said to the Tribune. “This is not just.”