The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against a trio of states, including Utah, on Thursday, challenging local laws that allow some undocumented students to receive in-state tuition at state colleges and universities — a move the agency argues is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit is part of a larger effort from the DOJ to crack down on states it believes give “preferential treatment” to immigrants living in the country illegally over U.S. citizens. The complaints on Thursday against Utah, Arkansas, Hawaii, and Washington, D.C., bring the total number of lawsuits by the Trump administration over tuition laws pertaining to undocumented students to 25.
“No more placing illegal aliens over American citizens on this Department of Justice’s watch,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. said in a statement. “We have now sued every state across our Nation that has a state law or regulation granting illegal aliens in-state tuition. We look forward to favorable court rulings and will continue to deliver on President Trump’s promise: illegal aliens will not receive benefits denied to American citizens.”
The lawsuit specifically targets a law passed by the Utah Legislature in 2002 that allows some undocumented immigrants who have graduated high school and have applied for lawful residency to pay in-state tuition rather than the higher out-of-state costs. Those students would also be eligible for some stated-based scholarships, although they would not be able to access federal aid.
DOJ officials argue those laws offer better treatment to undocumented students than what is afforded to U.S. citizens, deeming them unconstitutional.
“This is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said in a statement. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”
The lawsuit lists the Utah System of Higher Education as a defendant in the case as well as the state of Utah and the state commissioner of higher education.
The USHE responded to the lawsuit in a brief statement to the Deseret News, noting it would continue administering assistance “in accordance with legislative direction.”
“Education is at the heart of our mission,” the board stated. “We support students who meet the eligibility requirements established in state law and defer to the Utah Legislature’s authority to set tuition policy for our public colleges and universities.”
Of the 25 lawsuits challenging laws related to tuition benefits for undocumented students, six have ruled in favor of the DOJ and deemed those policies as unconstitutional. Those states include Texas, Kansas, Illinois, South Dakota, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Pending lawsuits remain in Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Colorado, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington.