The Department of Justice sued New York State to stop providing discounted college tuition and financial aid to undocumented immigrants. Officials claim these state policies violate federal law and unconstitutionally discriminate against out-of-state American citizens. This legal action follows similar recent lawsuits against Connecticut and Vermont, both driven by new presidential executive orders regarding taxpayer subsidies for noncitizens.
Comments: Link copiedThe Department of Justice sued New York State to stop providing discounted college tuition and financial aid to undocumented immigrants. Officials claim these state policies violate federal law and unconstitutionally discriminate against out-of-state American citizens. This legal action follows similar recent lawsuits against Connecticut and Vermont, both driven by new presidential executive orders regarding taxpayer subsidies for noncitizens.
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ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — The federal government is suing New York State to block undocumented immigrants from getting discounted college tuition and financial assistance.
According to the Department of Justice, New York unconstitutionally discriminates against Americans from other states by offering cheaper in-state tuition to immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally.
The Office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James said officials have yet to see the lawsuit. According to the DOJ, an “as-filed copy” was “not yet public” as of press time.
DOJ also filed lawsuits against Connecticut and Vermont on August 10, challenging all three states for giving in-state tuition and financial aid to undocumented students. Their state policies violate federal law, according to DOJ officials vowing to sue any state offering such benefits to noncitizens just because they live in-state.
“Congress long ago made clear that States cannot put illegal aliens over our Nation’s own citizens,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.
And according to Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”
Under U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, DOJ has already won similar lawsuits in Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Illinois. Other suits against Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Colorado are pending.
In the filing against Connecticut and Vermont, the plaintiffs argued that the federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act from 1996 bans states from giving postsecondary education benefits to undocumented immigrants due to residency unless American citizens from out-of-state get the same benefits. DOJ claimed that those states were incentivizing illegal immigration in direct violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The federal lawsuits are fueled by two executive orders issued by President Trump in 2025 — Executive Order 14218, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders,” and Executive Order 14287, “Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens”. They directed federal agencies to prevent states from giving in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants while denying it to out-of-state citizens.
The José Peralta New York State DREAM Act, passed in 2019 and named after the late state lawmaker, deliberately connects eligible undocumented students to state-administered grants and scholarships. And historically, the Empire State has to give safety net benefits to undocumented residents, because the 1938 state constitution legally mandates care for all needy inhabitants.
The state uses local tax revenue to pay for such services, because another federal welfare law from 1996 — the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act — blocks spending federal dollars on noncitizens.
Either way, research from the American Immigration Council showed that foreign-born New Yorkers offset the state’s declining population while helping shape the economy with their property taxes. And some studies have calculated that the state pays thousands less to college students who support themselves than it does to those living with their parents.
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