The United States Department of Justice is challenging Illinois laws providing in-state tuition and scholarships for immigrant students without legal status. DOJ lawyers claim that these laws unconstitutionally discriminate against U.S. citizens, who are not afforded the same reduced tuition rates or scholarships, which they claim is in direct conflict with federal law. On Tuesday, Sept. 2, the Department of Justice filed a complaint in the Southern District of Illinois against the State of Illinois, Governor Pritzker, the State Attorney General, and the boards of trustees of state universities in Illinois seeking to enjoin the State from enforcing the Illinois laws.
In the complaint, the United States seeks to enjoin enforcement of Illinois laws that requires colleges and universities to provide in-state tuition rates for undocumented students in Illinois. According to the DOJ, federal law prohibits institutions of higher education from providing benefits to aliens that are not offered to U.S. citizens. They claim that providing in-state tuition to undocumented students in Illinois while not providing it to U.S. citizens living out-of-state therefore violates federal law.
“Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice has already filed multiple lawsuits to prevent U.S. students from being treated like second-class citizens —Illinois now joins the list of states where we are relentlessly fighting to vindicate federal law.”
“Illinois has an apparent desire to win a ‘race to the bottom’ as the country’s leading sanctuary state. Its misguided approach mandating in-state tuition, scholarships, and financial aid to illegal aliens plainly violates federal law,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft for the Southern District of Illinois. “This policy treats illegal aliens better than U.S. citizens living in other states and incentivizes even more illegal immigration, all on the taxpayer’s dime. Illinois citizens deserve better.”
This lawsuit follows two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump that seek to prevent undocumented immigrants from obtaining taxpayer benefits or “preferential treatment.” The first, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders,” orders all agencies to “ensure, to the maximum extent permitted by law, that no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.” The second, “Protecting American Communities From Criminal Aliens,” directs relevant officials to “take appropriate action to stop the enforcement of State and local laws, regulations, policies, and practices favoring aliens over any groups of American citizens that are unlawful, preempted by Federal law, or otherwise unenforceable, including State laws that provide in-State higher education tuition to aliens but not to out-of-State American citizens.”
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