The U.S. Department of Justice has sued New York, Connecticut and Vermont, challenging state laws that allow certain students without lawful immigration status to receive in-state college tuition and financial aid.
The lawsuits, filed August 10, target state laws, regulations and policies that the Justice Department says provide in-state tuition rates and scholarships to people who are unlawfully present in the United States. The department argues that the policies violate federal law by giving benefits to undocumented immigrants that are not equally available to U.S. citizens who live outside the states.
“Congress long ago made clear that States cannot put illegal aliens over our Nation’s own citizens,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said. “By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, New York, Vermont, and Connecticut are doing just that. No more.” Woodward said the lawsuits mean the department has now sued every state in the Second Circuit that it believes is violating the federal prohibition.
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Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said the issue was a matter of federal law. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country,” Shumate said.
The complaints seek court orders blocking New York, Connecticut and Vermont from enforcing policies that provide in-state tuition to aliens who maintain residency in those states regardless of whether they are lawfully present in the United States.
The lawsuits also seek to prevent the three states from providing financial assistance and scholarships to undocumented immigrants.
The latest legal action brings to 17 the number of lawsuits filed by the Justice Department challenging state policies involving in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants, according to the department.
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The Justice Department said it has already secured favorable court orders in similar cases involving Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Illinois. It said those rulings permanently blocked or declared unconstitutional comparable laws that provided reduced tuition to undocumented immigrants. Similar lawsuits remain pending against several other states, including Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland and Colorado, according to the department.
The legal disputes could have significant implications for undocumented students seeking access to public colleges and universities, as well as for states that have adopted policies allowing certain undocumented residents to qualify for in-state tuition or financial assistance.
The Justice Department’s allegations will now be considered by the federal courts. The lawsuits do not by themselves establish that the challenged state laws are unconstitutional.