WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice is suing three blue states to challenge laws that let non-citizens benefit from college tuition rates offered to in-state residents and other financial assistance.
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.
Each state is accused of violating the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause in letting illegal aliens remain eligible for post-secondary education benefits that aren’t provided to US citizens of other states.
“While our office is currently reviewing the lawsuit, we are confident New York’s statute is lawful and will be upheld,” a rep for Gov. Kathy Hochul responded in a statement.
“In keeping with the law, the Governor believes all New York high school students deserve the opportunity to pursue higher education in the state.”
In Connecticut, those laws have been on the books for more than a decade.
The state’s Attorney General William Tong said, “Note to Trump—stay out of Connecticut. How we run our schools and teach our kids is none of your business and you have no authority to force the sovereign State of Connecticut to deny our kids a future.”
“I fought for this bill as a legislator when it passed in 2011, and I’ll fight to defend Connecticut families now from this cruel attack,” Tong added. “Connecticut offers in-state tuition and financial aid to all eligible Connecticut students because all kids deserve the opportunity to learn, to advance, and to achieve their dreams.”
New York and Vermont have had similar legislation for several years.
“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.”
At least 14 states with similar laws — including New Jersey, Minnesota and California — have already been sued by President Trump’s DOJ.
At least five states — Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Illinois — have been barred from providing the reduced tuition rate for illegal aliens.
In July, the New Orleans-based Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas federal judge’s ruling that enjoined the Lone Star State from offering illegal immigrants studying at public universities the in-state rate.
“This is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” added Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”
Reps for the governor of Vermont did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
