The Justice Department is suing Virginia, saying it provides in-state tuition to immigrants lacking permanent legal status in violation of federal law.
The Justice Department is suing Virginia, saying it provides in-state tuition to immigrants lacking permanent legal status in violation of federal law.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Richmond, seeks to stop the state from enforcing laws that provide in-state tuition and financial assistance to immigrants in the country illegally, which the Justice Department said would bring the state into compliance with federal law.
It follows two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump that seek to ensure immigrants who do not hold legal status are not obtaining taxpayer benefits or preferential treatment. Similar tuition lawsuits have also been filed in Texas, Kentucky, Illinois, Oklahoma, Minnesota and California.
“This is a simple matter of federal law,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”
According to the Justice Department’s complaint, laws that allow immigrants without legal status to receive in-state tuition or financial assistance unconstitutionally discriminate against U.S. citizens who are not afforded the same reduced rates or scholarships.
The complaint cites federal law that states, “an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State … for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit … without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.”
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