The Department of Justice (DOJ) opened a new front against state policies that benefit students without legal immigration status. This Monday he filed lawsuits against New York, Connecticut and Vermont to try to block laws that allow them to access university tuition at a resident rate and, in some cases, state financial support.

The three lawsuits maintain that these measures violate federal law because, according to the DOJ, they offer benefits to undocumented people that are not available under the same conditions to US citizens living outside those states.

The Justice Department stated that the laws “unconstitutionally discriminate against citizens” and that they “create incentives for irregular immigration and reward undocumented aliens with benefits.” Therefore, he asked the courts to prevent the application of these regulations.

The crackdown is part of a broader strategy by President Donald Trump's administration against so-called "tuition equity" policies, which allow certain undocumented students to pay the same as in-state residents at public universities.

The New York case has a broader scope than simply paying tuition. State laws allow certain students without legal immigration status to access state scholarships and grants to finance their higher education.

The measure is not limited to undocumented people. It also includes students with a U visa, intended for certain victims of crimes, a T visa, for victims of trafficking, and beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Additionally, there are educational residency requirements. Among them, having completed high school in New York and having enrolled in a higher education institution within five years of graduation.

In Connecticut, a law passed in 2011 allows certain undocumented students who live in the state to pay resident tuition. One of the requirements is to have attended and completed high school in Connecticut.

Vermont regulations also allow students who meet residency requirements to access state rates without their immigration status alone being a reason to exclude them. State legislation also provides access to state-funded financial assistance programs for residents who meet other requirements.

The federal government's central argument rests on a provision of the 1996 immigration law that establishes restrictions on states granting higher education benefits to people who are not legally in the United States when those same benefits are not available to US citizens regardless of their place of residence. The DOJ has used that rule as a basis in other lawsuits.

A battle that already reaches 17 states

The new lawsuits bring to 17 the legal actions taken by the Department of Justice against states and jurisdictions that maintain similar policies.

The federal administration has already made progress in Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Illinois, where courts have blocked or questioned programs that allowed undocumented students to access resident tuition rates. In Illinois, for example, a federal judge determined in July that a state law granting that benefit was unconstitutional on the grounds that citizens of other states did not receive the same treatment. The case affects a policy that had been in place for more than two decades.

The DOJ also maintains litigation against Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland and Colorado. In June, the department filed similar lawsuits against Massachusetts and Rhode Island, arguing that those laws gave preferential treatment to people who are in the country illegally.

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