DOJ Continues Legal Campaign Against In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students

The Trump administration’s legal campaign to end in-state tuition policies for undocumented students is accelerating, with the DOJ filing its 14th such lawsuit—this time against Colorado’s 2013 ASSET Act—while also achieving a significant court victory in Illinois, where a federal judge struck down not only that state’s in-state tuition law but also the RISE Act and the Illinois DREAM Act, which together provided state financial aid and scholarship access to undocumented students. In both cases, the DOJ’s central argument is the same: that such laws violate federal statute by granting education benefits to undocumented immigrants that are unavailable to U.S. citizens residing outside the state. Inside Higher Ed reports that Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s office condemned the ruling as “targeted cruelty” and said the state was evaluating a potential appeal, while Denver Mayor Michael Johnston, who co-sponsored Colorado’s ASSET Act, called the lawsuit a “slap in the face” to students who grew up in the state. The administration has now successfully blocked similar policies in Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, with lawsuits still pending in California, Maryland, New Jersey, Minnesota, and several other states.