"The U.S. Department of Justice sued Illinois on Tuesday over its policy to allow in-state tuition rates for undocumented students. Illinois is the fifth state targeted by such a lawsuit. The DOJ filed a complaint in the Southern District of Illinois against the state, Gov. JB Pritzker, the state attorney general and boards of trustees of state universities. The complaint argues that it's illegal to offer lower tuition rates to undocumented students if out-of-state citizens can't also benefit."
"Illinois passed a law in 2003 that grants in-state tuition to undocumented students who meet certain criteria. To qualify, students need to reside and attend high school in the state for three years, graduate from an Illinois high school, and sign an affidavit promising to apply to become a permanent resident as soon as possible. Pritzker then signed a bill into law last year that would loosen these criteria, starting in July 2026."
""Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a news release. "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.""
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Illinois over a state policy allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, naming the state, Gov. JB Pritzker, the attorney general, and university boards as defendants. The DOJ contends federal law bars benefits to undocumented immigrants that are not available to U.S. citizens and argues the in-state rates violate that principle when out-of-state citizens cannot access them. Illinois law from 2003 grants in-state tuition to undocumented students who meet residency, schooling, graduation, and affidavit requirements. A 2024 law signed by Pritzker will loosen eligibility beginning July 2026. The DOJ previously succeeded in Texas and Oklahoma; cases in Kentucky and Minnesota continue.
Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]