The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits against New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, challenging state policies that grant in-state tuition and financial aid to undocumented immigrants.
The complaints allege that these state laws discriminate against U.S. citizens from other states who do not qualify for the same reduced tuition rates or financial assistance.
According to the department, the state measures conflict directly with federal immigration law and congressional mandates regarding public benefits.
“Congress long ago made clear that States cannot put illegal aliens over our Nation’s own citizens,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, New York, Vermont, and Connecticut are doing just that. No more. As of today, we have now sued every state in the Second Circuit that seeks to thwart Congress’s clear prohibition by placing alien over citizen. And our efforts will not cease until President Trump’s promise is fulfilled: illegal aliens will not receive benefits denied to our Nation’s own citizens.”
The legal filings request that federal courts halt the enforcement of state laws, regulations, and higher education policies that allow non-citizens without lawful immigration status to access residency-based tuition rates. The Department of Justice is also seeking to block state-funded financial assistance and scholarship programs for those individuals.
“This is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”
With these filings, the federal government has brought 17 lawsuits nationwide targeting state-level in-state tuition provisions for undocumented students. Under Attorney General Todd Blanche, similar actions in Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Illinois have produced court orders permanently blocking comparable state policies.
Additional federal lawsuits regarding higher education benefits for non-citizens remain pending in Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Colorado.
READ: Florida Man Pleads Guilty After DNA, Ballistics Link Him To Convenience Store Heist
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
