BUZZ
Justice Department alleges law discriminates against out-of-state U.S. citizens
Illegal immigrants may continue to receive in-state tuition rates in Minnesota after a federal judge dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit challenging the law as discriminatory toward out-of-state U.S. citizens.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez threw out the Department of Justice’s case on Friday, making her the first to rule against the Trump administration’s efforts to stop states from granting lower tuition rates to illegal immigrants, Inside Higher Ed reports.
The department alleges that the law and others like it in Virginia, California, and Illinois illegally discriminate against U.S. citizens who live in other states because they are ineligible for the lower tuition rate.
However, Menendez ruled that the Justice Department misinterpreted federal law and failed to prove its discrimination claims, CBS News reports:
The federal government said those state statutes “flagrantly” violate a federal law that prevents states from providing preferential benefits to immigrants in the U.S. illegally regardless of whether or not they meet residency requirements.
“No state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens,” Bondi said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed last year.
Menendez said the Justice Department misinterpreted the law, passed by Democratic former President Bill Clinton, because anyone who attended a Minnesota high school for at least three years are granted the same public benefits, regardless of where they have U.S. residency or immigration status.
She also said the federal government didn’t have standing to sue the state attorney general or governor since neither have the power to change the state laws that determine tuition eligibility.
In Minnesota, “nonresidents can—and do—qualify for resident tuition: by living in a neighboring state and attending Minnesota high schools, attending a Minnesota boarding school, or attending and graduating from a Minnesota high school before moving out of state,” the judge wrote.
State Attorney General Keith Ellison celebrated the judge’s ruling in a statement Friday, describing it as a victory over an uncaring President Donald Trump.
“Today, we defeated another one of Donald Trump’s efforts to misconstrue federal law to force Minnesota to abandon duly passed state laws and become a colder, less caring state,” Ellison stated.
The tuition program is an “investment for our state to do everything we can to encourage a more educated workforce,” he stated.
The Justice Department is challenging similar laws in several states. Meanwhile, other states are taking action independently to follow the administration’s advice.
On Friday, the Kansas Legislature passed a bill to prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving any state or local public benefits, including qualifying for the lower in-state tuition price.
Texas and Oklahoma also agreed to end their in-state provisions for illegal immigrants, but other states are still engaged in the legal dispute, The Hill reports.
In January, Virginia was on the verge of settling with the federal government until its attorney general’s office changed hands, from Republican Jason Miyares to Democrat Jay Jones, The College Fix reported.
