Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Trump Justice Department is filing a lawsuit against Kentucky for its policy allowing illegal immigrants in the state to be eligible for in-state tuition rates.
“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. “The Department of Justice just won on this exact issue in Texas, and we look forward to fighting in Kentucky to protect the rights of American citizens.”
The DOJ’s Texas lawsuit on the matter resulted in a judge ruling that a 24-year-old policy allowing illegal immigrant students to pay in-state tuition at public universities was unlawful.
The DOJ’s filing explains that federal law prohibits states from allowing in-state tuition to illegal immigrants unless all U.S. citizens are allowed the same opportunity regardless of residency in the state.
“Federal law prohibits aliens not lawfully present in the United States from getting in-state tuition benefits that are denied to out-of-state U.S. citizens,” the filing says. “There are no exceptions.”
Crystal Staley, a spokesperson for Governor Andy Beshear (D), said in a statement obtained by The Hill, “We haven’t been served with this lawsuit and had no advance notice, nor any prior discussion with the Department of Justice about it.”
“Under Kentucky law, [Council on Postsecondary Education] is independent, has sole authority to determine student residency requirements for the purposes of in-state tuition, and controls its own regulations,” Staley said. “The Governor has no authority to alter CPE’s regulations and should not be a party to the lawsuit.”
