DOJ Completes 25-Lawsuit Sweep Against In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students

The Justice Department has now sued 24 states and Washington, D.C. over laws allowing eligible noncitizens to pay in-state college tuition, completing 25 lawsuits filed since last summer. The final batch, filed Sept. 11, targeted Arkansas, D.C., Hawaii and Utah. DOJ argues the policies unlawfully grant noncitizens a benefit denied to out-of-state American citizens.

The campaign, rooted in two 2025 executive orders, has already ended discounted tuition for undocumented students in Kentucky, Illinois, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. Advocacy groups estimate roughly 525,000 undocumented students nationwide are affected, with more than 180,000 already in states that ended the policies and 220,000 more in states where litigation continues. A federal judge in Minnesota dismissed DOJ's suit there, finding no violation of federal law, while other courts have sided with DOJ.

Advocates including MALDEF say they expect to ask the Supreme Court to take up the issue, calling the split among lower courts unsustainable.