The Justice Department filed lawsuits against four states Thursday, arguing laws granting illegal immigrants in-state tuition and financial aid shortchange American students.
The Trump administration's Justice Department filed lawsuits Thursday against Oregon, Washington, New Mexico and Arizona over state laws that hand illegal immigrants taxpayer-funded education benefits, including in-state tuition, grants and student loans. The four new cases bring to 21 the number of states the federal government has challenged for giving illegal aliens benefits denied to American citizens.
The lawsuits argue the states are violating a federal statute that bars illegal immigrants from receiving in-state tuition rates and related higher-education benefits unless the same benefits are available to every U.S. student.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, who leads the Justice Department's Civil Division, said the cases come down to a simple reading of the law.
"This is a simple matter of federal law: 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."
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. signaled the push is far from finished, vowing the administration will keep pressing states that ignore the law.
"Our efforts will not cease until President Trump's promise is fulfilled: Illegal aliens will not receive benefits denied to American citizens," Woodward said.
The price gap between what illegal immigrants pay and what citizens are charged is substantial. At the University of Washington, in-state tuition for the 2026-2027 school year runs $13,406, compared with $44,460 for out-of-state students - a discount of more than $31,000 per student.
Arizona shows a similar pattern. The Justice Department's complaint says Arizona State University gave 432 illegal immigrants in-state tuition in fall 2025, totaling $10.5 million in reduced tuition. State records suggest more than 3,600 illegal aliens could qualify for the benefit every year under Arizona's law.
Oregon and Washington go even further. Oregon's Rural Nurse Scholars Scholarship at Oregon Health & Science University covers full tuition plus a $1,500 travel stipend, and illegal immigrants qualify under state law. Washington runs a dedicated Undocumented Student Support Loan Program created in 2020 for illegal immigrants who cannot obtain federal aid.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, rejected the federal government's position and promised to fight the lawsuit.
"Washington state won't be bullied into changing how we provide opportunities for young people in our state," Ferguson said. "We'll see them in court, and we expect to win."
The Arizona Board of Regents, also named in the lawsuit, said it is reviewing the filing and will work with state leaders on next steps.
The Justice Department has already prevailed in five states - Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Illinois - where courts sided with the federal government on the tuition issue. Nebraska ended its in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants after reaching a deal with the DOJ.
Lawsuits remain pending against Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Colorado, New York, Connecticut and Vermont, meaning the legal fight is set to continue for months.
The stakes are significant. A 2024 report estimated roughly 408,000 illegal immigrants were enrolled in higher education, with nearly 30 percent arriving in the United States at age 17 or older.
The four new lawsuits put more blue states on notice that the administration intends to enforce federal immigration law all the way through the courts. With cases already won in the heartland and more pending on the coasts, the message is clear: states that subsidize illegal immigration at the expense of American students will keep facing federal action until the benefits stop.
The Justice Department filed lawsuits against four states Thursday, arguing laws granting illegal immigrants in-state tuition and financial aid shortchange American students.
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