The Justice Department is suing Virginia over its policy of allowing students without legal immigration status access to in-state tuition rates at its public colleges and universities.
In a lawsuit filed late Monday, the Trump administration said the Virginia Education Code “directly” conflicts with federal immigration law.
“Federal law prohibits States from providing aliens who are not lawfully present in the United States with any postsecondary education benefit that is denied to U.S. citizens,” Elianis Perez, assistant director at the Office of Immigration Litigation at DOJ, wrote. “There are no exceptions.”
According to the complaint, since 2022 Virginia law has allowed students without legal immigration status who have lived in the state for at least two years to benefit from reduced, in-state tuition rates while denying that same benefit to citizens who are not residents of Virginia.
The office of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Similar lawsuits have been filed against other states that have comparable tuition programs.
The Trump administration sued Oklahoma in August, Illinois in September and California in November. In June, a federal judge blocked a Texas policy that granted financial aid to unauthorized immigrants.
“These laws unconstitutionally discriminate against U.S. citizens, who are not afforded the same reduced tuition rates or scholarships, in direct conflict with federal law,” the Justice Department said in a statement in September.
According to the National Immigration Law Center, at least 22 states have “equity” tuition laws and 14 states offer tuition aid to students who meet certain prerequisites, regardless of their immigration status.
Federal law does not prohibit states from providing in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants if it provides the same opportunity to nonresidents who meet the same requirements, according to the immigration law center.
“This is a simple matter of federal law: in Virginia and nationwide, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” U.S Attorney General Pam Bondi stated. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”
