DOJ sues Virginia over in-state tuition for immigrants

Dec 30 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit challenging a Virginia law that makes immigrants in the country illegally eligible for reduced in-state tuition and financial aid at the state’s public colleges and universities.

Monday’s lawsuit marked the latest in a campaign by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to challenge state laws that extend tuition and financial aid benefits to non-citizens living in their states regardless of their immigration status.

The lawsuit targets a Virginia law that has since 2022 allowed immigrants who entered the country unlawfully to access reduced, in-state tuition rates at public universities and colleges if they can establish they reside in the state.

Supporters of the measure, which was signed into law in 2021 by then-Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, argued it would remove financial barriers that had limited the ability of immigrant students in the state to pursue higher education like other Virginia residents.

The Justice Department argues the measure conflicts with federal immigration law in violation of the U.S. Constitution because it gives educational benefits to illegal immigrants that are denied to U.S. citizens from other states.

The lawsuit cites the federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which restricts states’ ability to grant immigrants in the country illegally certain postsecondary education benefits.

“This is a simple matter of federal law: in Virginia and nationwide, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”

The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in Richmond federal court days before Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin leaves office and hands control to Democrat Abigail Spanberger. His office did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

At least 21 other states and the District of Columbia have similar “tuition equity” laws and policies that allow certain students who graduated from high schools in their states to pay in-state tuition regardless of their immigration status, according to the National Immigration Law Center.

According to the immigrant rights group, 14 states, including Virginia, also provide state financial aid to eligible students regardless of their immigration status.

Under Trump, the Justice Department has filed at least six lawsuits challenging similar policies in Texas, Kentucky, Illinois, Oklahoma, Minnesota and California.

Texas and Oklahoma, both led by Republican governors, quickly settled by agreeing to consent decrees blocking enforcement of their state laws.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)