DOJ lawsuits target tuition, scholarships for illegal migrants

Federal prosecutors filed lawsuits Monday against Massachusetts and Rhode Island for allowing illegal migrants to receive scholarships and in-state tuition rates. These states are unconstitutionally discriminating against legal U.S. citizens who aren’t offered the same scholarships and tuition rates, according to the Department of Justice. Prosecutors also argued that the policies incentivized illegal immigration and awarded migrants with benefits for which U.S. citizens are ineligible.

Federal law bars colleges from providing benefits to illegal migrants that aren't even provided to American citizens, according to Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. Trump’s Justice Department will not allow American students to be treated like second-class citizens in their own country, he added.

Both lawsuits requested injunctions to block Massachusetts and Rhode Island’s laws that require colleges and universities to give in-state tuition rates for migrants living in the states, regardless of legal status. The lawsuits also petitioned for injunctions against both states from awarding financial assistance and scholarships to illegal migrants.

Is anyone in favor of providing scholarships and in-state tuition rates for illegal migrants? The American Immigration Council argues that access to in-state tuition should be offered to all qualifying students, regardless of their immigration status. Doing so makes it possible for more students to graduate from college, at which point they can make economic contributions to the country by paying taxes, spending more on the economy, and filling key workforce jobs, according to the council.

Has the DOJ filed similar lawsuits? The DOJ noted that these cases make a total of 12 states they’ve sued for providing tuition cuts and scholarships to illegal migrants. Prosecutors brought similar actions against Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, and Kansas.