DOJ takes on three blue states over college tuition breaks for illegal immigrants
WASHINGTON, DC: The Department of Justice is suing three Democrat-led states for allowing non-citizens to benefit from the college fees and other financial assistance meant for legal residents.
New York, Connecticut and Vermont have been accused of admitting illegal students on the same tuition fee as offered to students registered as legal residents.
Blue states sued over tuition benefits for undocumented students
The lawsuits against New York, Connecticut and Vermont alleged that state laws unconstitutionally discriminate against American citizens who don’t receive reduced fees, scholarships or other financial benefits.
“Congress long ago made clear that States cannot put illegal aliens over our nation’s own citizens,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward in a statement.
"By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, New York, Vermont, and Connecticut are doing just that. No more,” Woodward added.
“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.”
Several states maintain ‘tuition equity’ policies
At least 14 states with similar laws, including New Jersey, Minnesota and California, have already been sued by President Trump’s DOJ.
The DOJ has continuously extended its crackdown on states that follow “tuition-equity” policies, adding states like New York, Connecticut, and Vermont to its litigation list as well.
Around twenty states and the District of Columbia currently maintain "tuition equity" policies that allow undocumented students to access in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities.
Additionally, many of these states also offer access to state financial aid, grants, or scholarships.
Multiple states that previously allowed in-state tuition for undocumented students, including Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Nebraska, have recently passed legislation to eliminate these tuition equity benefits.
In Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, which offers tuition fee equity to undocumented students, federal judges sided with the DOJ, or state officials agreed to consent judgments, permanently blocking or ending their tuition equity programs.
A federal judge recently struck down Illinois' in-state tuition law, alongside state-level financial aid for undocumented students.
