Do in-state tuition benefits affect the enrollment of non-citizens? Evidence from universities in Texas

•We model the effects of offering in-state tuition benefits to non-citizens using Texas data.•The policy increased enrollment yields by 18 percentage points at UT-Pan American.•The policy increased enrollment yields by 11 percentage points at UT-San Antonio.•The policy did not significantly affect the enrollment yields at the state flagships.

In 2001, the Texas state legislature passed House Bill 1403. With the passage of the law, Texas became the first state to offer in-state tuition rates at public universities for non-citizens (including illegal immigrants) who attended high school in the state for three years. As a result of the policy change, the cost of attending college at public universities in Texas fell dramatically for non-citizens. Using administrative data from five universities in Texas, we employ a quasi-experimental design to identify the effects of the policy change on the probability of enrollment at each of the universities. The results demonstrate a large and significant positive effect of lowering tuition on the enrollment of non-citizens at the University of Texas at Pan American and the University of Texas at San Antonio.