Trump’s DoJ sues California over college tuition benefits for undocumented students | California
The justice department sued California on Thursday for allowing undocumented college students to pay in-state tuition for public universities, claiming the policy harms U.S. citizens.
The lawsuit, filed in the US district court for the Eastern District of California, is the third lawsuit filed by the Trump administration against California this week. In addition to challenging the state’s in-state tuition policy, the lawsuit argues that California illegally expanded eligibility for scholarships and subsidized loans to undocumented students.
The defendants include the state, top California officials and the state’s two public university systems: the University of California and California State University.
“Federal law prohibits aliens who are in the United States illegally from receiving in-state educational benefits not available to out-of-state U.S. citizens.” complaint. “There are no exceptions.”
california law allows Some students may qualify for in-state tuition rates that are lower than out-of-state tuition, even if they technically qualify as non-residents. This includes students who have completed “three full-time years or the equivalent in any combination” at a California high school, California adult high school, or California community college.
The California Dream Act, two bills passed in 2011, allow undocumented students to apply for and receive state-based financial aid, according to San Francisco State University. undocumented students can’t receive Federal financial aid for college.
The justice department’s civil complaint alleges that California’s policy on undocumented student fees is “unconstitutional” and asks for a judge to “declare it unlawful and permanently prohibit its enforcement.”
“California is unlawfully discriminating against American students and families by offering special tuition benefits to noncitizens,” said U.S. attorney Pamela Bondi. “This is our third lawsuit against California in a week; we will continue to file lawsuits against California until the state stops blatantly ignoring federal law.”
The Trump administration has filed similar lawsuits against the policies in other states, including Illinois, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Kentucky and Texas. Half the country now has laws similar to California’s.
In June, Texas ended the decades-old law after the administration sued. And Florida last year repealed a law that allowed education in the state to high school graduates who were not legally in the country.
Supporters of state tuition reductions argue that they would not violate federal law if they provided the same rates to U.S. citizens in the same circumstances, that is, residents of the state and graduates of one of the state’s high schools. The California Dream Act also allows such students to apply for state-funded financial aid.
Many of the students were brought to the United States as children by their parents, and supporters of the laws say they are as much a part of their communities as U.S. citizens.
The complaint states: executive order In February, a law was signed into law instructing federal departments and agencies to prevent undocumented people from receiving public benefits. another one executive order The agreement, signed in April, instructs authorities to stop enforcing laws and practices that favor undocumented people over U.S. citizens. The lawsuit argues that the Republican president’s orders enforce federal immigration laws.
The University of California has defended its in-state tuition policy for decades.
“Of course, we will comply with the laws established by the courts, but we believe our policies and practices are consistent with existing legal standards,” the statement said.
The case comes weeks after California’s supreme court agreed to a lower court ruling that the University of California’s policy barring students without legal status in the United States from working on campus was discriminatory and should be reconsidered.
University system officials had warned that the decision would put them in a precarious position as they negotiated with the Trump administration following the withdrawal of federal research funding.
UC is dealing with the suspension of federal grants and a White House demand that it pay a $1 billion fine over allegations including anti-Semitism and illegal consideration of race in admitting students to the Los Angeles campus.
The California State University system is the nation’s largest and most diverse system, with more than 460,000 students. More than a quarter of undergraduate students are first-generation college students, according to the university system.
The University of California educates approximately 300,000 students.
