Despite Trump’s order targeting states, some public colleges are still offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants and not out-of-state U.S. citizens.
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia provide in-state tuition and financial aid for illegal immigrants despite a federal prohibition against the practice.
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, prohibits states from offering in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants unless that same benefit is extended to all U.S. citizens, regardless of residency.
The Trump administration is targeting states that offer in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.
Two Republican-dominated states ended the practice after the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued. The lawsuits were filed after President Donald Trump’s April executive order directing the department to take legal action against the practice.
At most schools, tuition for in-state residents is typically a fraction of what out-of-state residents and international students pay. Public systems are funded by state income and sales taxes.
Here’s what to know.
Trump’s Order
Under Trump’s executive order, signed April 28, the DOJ and Department of Homeland Security are directed to enforce the 1996 federal law prohibiting out-of-state tuition rates from being charged to U.S. citizens if their schools provide in-state discounts to illegal immigrants.
Oklahoma, which had provided in-state tuition rates to any high school graduate who lived with a parent or guardian for at least two years before earning their diploma, immediately settled with the DOJ following an Aug. 5 lawsuit and overturned the state law.
Texas made a similar deal following an April lawsuit, rescinding a 2001 policy that extended in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrant students if they lived in the state for at least three years prior to high school graduation and signed an affidavit promising to seek legal residency as soon as possible.
“Those lawsuits were the low-hanging fruit,” said Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. “They’re basically pushing an open door there.”
The DOJ has similar pending lawsuits against Minnesota and Kentucky, where illegal aliens who are deemed state residents are also entitled to in-state tuition rates.
