Colorado — The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the State of Colorado, alleging its laws granting in-state tuition and state financial aid to illegal immigrants violate federal law by providing benefits unavailable to many U.S. citizens.
According to the complaint, Colorado requires public colleges and universities to offer in-state tuition rates to residents regardless of their immigration status. The Justice Department argues those policies conflict with federal law by extending education benefits to illegal immigrants that are not equally available to all U.S. citizens.
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said Congress has long prohibited states from providing education benefits to illegal immigrants unless the same benefits are available to all American citizens. He argued Colorado’s policies subsidize higher education for illegal immigrants at taxpayer expense and conflict with federal law.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said the lawsuit seeks to ensure colleges do not provide benefits to illegal immigrants that are unavailable to U.S. citizens.
The federal government is asking the court to block enforcement of Colorado statutes that require public colleges and universities to offer in-state tuition rates to qualifying residents regardless of whether they are lawfully present in the United States. The complaint also seeks to prevent the state from providing financial aid and scholarships to illegal immigrants under those laws.
The lawsuit is the Justice Department’s 14th legal challenge targeting state policies that provide in-state tuition benefits to illegal immigrants. According to the department, similar lawsuits in Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Nebraska have resulted in court orders striking down comparable laws, while additional cases remain pending against Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maryland.
The case is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to challenge state policies it contends conflict with federal immigration law and unlawfully extend public benefits to individuals residing in the country illegally.
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