Dominguez v. State of Texas (Hazlewood Act)

In appreciation for the service of men and women in the U.S. military during a period of conflict, Texas’s Hazlewood Act provides a tuition waiver at Texas public colleges and universities for returning veterans. Although the program is intended to further the education of all honorably-discharged Texas veterans, the state interpreted the Act to exclude those veterans who were legal permanent resident immigrants and not U.S. citizens at the time they entered the service, including those veterans who subsequently became citizens.

In 2007, MALDEF filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on behalf of the American GI Forum, Latino veterans, and veterans of other national origins challenging the state’s administration of the Hazlewood Act. The lawsuit alleged that denying the tuition waiver to veterans who enter the military as legal permanent residents violates the Equal Protection and Supremacy Clauses of the U.S. Constitution and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In January 2008, the plaintiffs represented by MALDEF filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, asking the Court to immediately halt the discriminatory practices of the State of Texas and its institutions of higher learning. Rather than contest the merits of the motion, Texas instead filed a response admitting that two prior opinions issued by its Attorney General in 2006, which had interpreted the Hazlewood Act to deny tuition benefits to thousands of legal permanent resident immigrants who served in the U.S. military, made the Hazlewood Act unconstitutional and, thus, withdrew those opinions.

As a result, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board adopted temporary, and then permanent, rules to provide that all qualified veterans are eligible for the Hazlewood exemption, regardless of their immigration status at the time they entered the military.

This case ensured that the rights of all Texas veterans who fought for our country will be upheld, including the right to equal access to higher educational opportunities in the state.

Texas Withdraws Discriminatory Attorney General Opinion in the Face of MALDEF Lawsuit

All eligible veterans will now receive Hazlewood tuition exemption

January 16, 2008

SAN ANTONIO, TX — One week after six Gulf War veterans asked a federal court to temporarily halt the State of Texas’s exclusion of certain veterans from receiving college tuition exemptions available under the Hazlewood Act, the Attorney General Greg Abbott withdrew his Opinions restricting the Hazlewood program.

In 2006, following two Opinion Letters from the Attorney General, the State had excluded veterans from receiving the Hazlewood exemption if they were legal permanent resident immigrants, but not yet U.S. citizens, at the time they entered the military. This policy was challenged in June 2007 by MALDEF on behalf of six Gulf War veterans who are now U.S. citizens but were denied the Hazlewood exemption because they were legal residents at the time they entered the military.

Court papers filed by the State yesterday in response to MALDEF’s lawsuit admit that its opinions interpreting the Hazlewood Act to exclude legal permanent resident immigrants, thousands of whom have served in the U.S. military for their adopted country, made the Hazlewood Act unconstitutional.

Today the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board adopted temporary rules to provide that all qualified veterans are eligible for the Hazlewood exemption whether they were U.S. citizens or legal resident immigrants at the time they entered the military.

Additional Veterans and Universities Added to Legal Challengae of Exclusion of Military Veterans From State Education Program

October 18, 2007

SAN ANTONIO, TX — Today, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), expanded its lawsuit challenging the exclusion of certain military veterans from the Texas Hazlewood Act, which provides a waiver of tuition and fees at Texas public colleges and universities. MALDEF represents veterans who have been denied the waiver and attended the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Houston, North Harris College, as well veterans seeking to attend the University of Texas at San Antonio and West Texas A&M University. In the expanded lawsuit, MALDEF represents six veterans and the American GI Forum of Texas.

Although each plaintiff honorably completed his military service and is otherwise qualified, the State and its institutions have denied the veterans tuition waivers solely because they were not U.S. citizens when they first entered the service—even those veterans who have since become U.S. citizens. All the plaintiff veterans joined the military while they were legal permanent resident immigrants of the United States.

“It is shocking that veterans who served our country in times of war are excluded from this educational program across our State, from smaller community colleges to larger universities,” stated David Hinojosa, MALDEF Staff Attorney and lead counsel in this case. “Equally shocking is that the State and its institutions have not reversed course, even after the filing of this lawsuit.”

The lawsuit maintains that denying veterans who entered the military as legal permanent residents violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution and other federal laws.

MALDEF Challenges Exclusion of Military Veterans From State Education Program

June 28, 2007

SAN ANTONIO, TX — Today, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the nation’s leading Latino legal organization, filed suit in federal district court challenging the exclusion of certain military veterans from the Texas Hazlewood Act, which provides a tuition waiver at Texas public colleges and universities. Although the program is intended to further the education of honorably-discharged Texas veterans, the State excludes from the Hazlewood tuition exemption those veterans who were not U.S. citizens at the time they entered the service, including those veterans who subsequently became citizens during wartime and thus served as citizens in defense of the United States. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include two honorably-discharged Texas veterans who are naturalized U.S. citizens as well as the American GI Forum of Texas, a veteran’s advocacy organization.

“Many legal permanent residents serve honorably in the armed forces. These soldiers risk their lives for the freedoms we enjoy in the United States and they deserve an equal opportunity when they return home,” stated Nina Perales, Southwest Regional Counsel for MALDEF. “The State’s policy forces public universities across the state to exclude returning soldiers because of their citizenship status,” continued Perales.

“Our clients simply want to enjoy the same benefits received by native born Texas veterans,” said Carlos Becerra, MALDEF staff attorney and lead counsel in the case. “After having honorably served their country in the military, it is only fair that veterans who entered the military as legal permanent residents be afforded the same educational opportunities as those veterans who entered the military as citizens.”

The lawsuit maintains that denying veterans who entered the military as legal permanent residents violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution and state and federal law.