WASHINGTON (LN) — The Justice Department filed a complaint Thursday in the District of New Jersey seeking to enjoin the state from enforcing laws that provide in-state tuition rates and financial assistance to undocumented immigrants, alleging the statutes unconstitutionally discriminate against U.S. citizens.
The suit names the State of New Jersey, the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, Acting Secretary of Higher Education Margo Chaly, the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Educational Opportunity Fund, and the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education.
The complaint argues that New Jersey’s laws require colleges and universities to provide in-state tuition rates to all aliens who maintain state residency, regardless of lawful presence, and afford financial assistance and scholarships to undocumented immigrants.
“These laws unconstitutionally discriminate against U.S. citizens who are not afforded the same reduced tuition rates, scholarships, or subsidies, create incentives for illegal immigration, and reward illegal immigrants with benefits that U.S. citizens are not eligible for, all in direct conflict with federal law,” the Justice Department said in a press release.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said the state’s policies deny American students educational opportunities.
“Imagine being denied the opportunity of education in your own country,” Woodward said. “By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, the state of New Jersey is doing just that.”
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Civil Division said the department would not tolerate what he described as second-class treatment for American students.
“This is a simple matter of federal law: in New Jersey and nationwide, colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” Shumate said. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”
The filing marks the ninth lawsuit in a series of actions the department has filed to fulfill President Trump’s commitment to ensure that undocumented immigrants are not obtaining taxpayer benefits or preferential treatment, according to the release.
The Justice Department said three similar lawsuits in Texas, Kentucky, and Oklahoma have resulted in favorable orders permanently enjoining and declaring unconstitutional analogous laws that gave reduced tuition to undocumented immigrants.
Lawsuits against other states that similarly put undocumented immigrants ahead of U.S. citizens are pending across the country in Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia, Nebraska, and California.