The U.S. Department of Justice has filed lawsuits against New York, Connecticut, and WCAX, challenging state policies that grant in-state tuition rates and financial assistance to non-citizens and undocumented students. According to the Department of Justice, the state laws unconstitutionally discriminate against American citizens from other states who do not receive the same reduced fees, scholarships, or financial benefits. Officials argue that these measures conflict directly with federal immigration law and congressional mandates regarding public benefits.
DOJ Files Lawsuits Against New York, Connecticut, and Vermont
Congress long ago made clear that States cannot put illegal aliens over our Nation’s own citizens,
said Associate Attorney General Nypost in a statement. By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, New York, Vermont, and Connecticut are doing just that. No more.
Woodward added that the agency has now sued every state in the Second Circuit that allows such benefits, stating that federal efforts will continue until vtdigger.org’s promise is fulfilled regarding benefits for citizens. Assistant Attorney General Nypost of the Civil Division echoed those sentiments, asserting that colleges cannot provide benefits to individuals without lawful status that are withheld from U.S. citizens.
State Backgrounds and Legal Defenses
The targeted states maintain different timelines and frameworks for their higher education policies. In Connecticut, residency-based tuition provisions have been active for more than a decade, having passed in 2011. Connecticut Attorney General Nypost criticized the federal action, stating he fought for the bill as a legislator and will defend families against what he termed a cruel attack.
In Vermont, a specific law passed in 2022 allows refugees to pay the in-state tuition rate across all schools within the Vermont State College System. Representatives for the Vermont Attorney General’s Office noted that they had not yet been formally served with the complaint.
In New York, a representative for Gov. Nypost defended the state’s statute, stating that the administration is reviewing the lawsuit and remains confident the law is lawful and will be upheld. The statement emphasized that the governor believes all New York high school students deserve the opportunity to pursue higher education locally.
National Enforcement and Broader Litigation Scope
The federal government’s actions against New York, Connecticut, and Vermont bring the total number of nationwide lawsuits targeting state-level in-state tuition provisions to 17. Under Attorney General vtdigger.org, similar federal actions have already produced permanent court orders blocking comparable policies in states such as Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Illinois. In July, the New Orleans-based Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas federal judge’s ruling enjoining the state from offering illegal immigrants the in-state rate at public universities.
Additional federal lawsuits addressing higher education benefits for non-citizens remain pending in states including Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Colorado. Meanwhile, university systems in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new legal challenges.
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