Department of Justice sues Pennsylvania State University for offering reduced tuition to undocumented immigrants
The Trump administration is challenging a policy that allows undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition rates, while U.S. citizens from other jurisdictions do not receive the same benefit.
Reference image from the Department of Justice
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) over its policy of offering reduced tuition to undocumented students residing in the state—a benefit that, according to federal authorities, discriminates against U.S. citizens who do not have access to the same rates.
In a statement, the Department of Justice argued that the university's policy violates federal law by allowing undocumented immigrants to pay the tuition rates applicable to Pennsylvania residents, while U.S. citizens from other states must pay higher tuition rates.
"The Department of Justice continues its efforts today to ensure that no state law or university policy grants preferential treatment to illegal immigrants over our nation's own citizens," said Deputy Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr.
The official added that Congress established long ago that public universities cannot grant reduced tuition to undocumented immigrants if that same benefit is not available to all Americans.
For his part, Brett A. Shumate, assistant attorney general in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, stated that Congress made a deliberate decision to prevent states and their public institutions from granting tuition benefits to undocumented immigrants without extending them to all U.S. citizens.
The government seeks to prevent the reduced tuition policy from continuing
Through the lawsuit, the federal government is asking the courts to prevent Penn State from continuing to apply its policy of reduced tuition for undocumented students residing in Pennsylvania, regardless of whether they are legally in the United States.
Furthermore, the Department of Justice seeks to prevent the university from establishing new tuition policies that grant preferential treatment to undocumented students over U.S. citizens.
A legal offensive totaling 27 lawsuits
According to the official statement, under the leadership of Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Department has secured favorable court rulings in six states: Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois and Kansas.
In these cases, the courts issued permanent injunctions preventing the enforcement of similar provisions and declared them unconstitutional, according to the assessment provided by federal authorities. Among the cited decisions is a ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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