Justice Department challenges 21 states for offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants– www.thecollegefix.com

States’ laws ‘constitute blatant unequal treatment favoring illegal aliens over U.S. citizens,’ lawsuits claim

The Department of Justice recently filed lawsuits against New Mexico, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington for their laws requiring in-state tuition prices be granted to illegal immigrants attending state universities.

These four new complaints—filed Aug. 27—mark the 18th through 21st cases of this kind since the Justice Department’s first lawsuit against Texas in June 2025. Most of the cases are on-going.

Christopher Hajec, deputy general council at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, told The College Fix that he believes these lawsuits will continue to be filed, although he is not sure what state will be next.

Some states have attempted to skirt around the federal law by “not bas[ing] instate tuition for illegal aliens on residence, but on some proxy for residence, such as graduation from a high school in the state,” he said in a recent interview.

Every one of the 21 complaints filed over the last 15 months—from Texas up through Washington—cite a federal law that states that illegal immigrants cannot be eligible “on the basis of residence … for any postsecondary education benefit” unless that same benefit is available to U.S. citizens regardless of their residence.