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DOJ Sues Vermont, New York Over In-State College Tuition Rules
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice has sued New York, Connecticut and Vermont over laws that allow immigrants in the country without permanent legal status to pay in-state college tuition in the states where they live. The suits, filed Aug.…
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Key points
- The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Vermont, New York, and Connecticut over laws granting in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants.
- The federal government argues these state policies violate federal law by giving benefits not extended to out-of-state U.S. citizens.
- Similar laws in five other states have already been struck down by federal courts as lawsuits proceed nationwide.
WASHINGTON NewsWK — A major federal legal challenge over college affordability has arrived in our region. The U.S. Department of Justice has filed lawsuits against Vermont, New York, and Connecticut over state laws that allow immigrants without permanent legal status to qualify for in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities.
The legal actions, filed on Aug. 10, represent the latest step in a nationwide effort by the Trump administration to challenge state-level tuition policies. Across the country, the federal government has now sued 17 states with similar provisions.
Why it matters here
For residents across Bennington County and our neighboring border communities in eastern New York and western Massachusetts, the outcome of this legal fight could reshape public higher education access across three state systems. Local students throughout Bennington, Manchester, Arlington, and Pownal often look to institutions like the Community College of Vermont and the Vermont State University system, while commuters just across the state line in Hoosick Falls and Rensselaer County rely on New York’s public colleges.
State policies in Vermont and New York have permitted residents who meet specific local criteria, such as graduating from an in-state high school, to pay resident tuition rates regardless of their immigration status. If federal courts strike down these provisions, affected students attending public campuses across the tri-state area could face out-of-state tuition bills that are often two to three times higher than resident rates.
The federal government’s legal challenge
The Justice Department contends that offering resident tuition rates to noncitizen students violates federal law by providing a benefit to undocumented residents that is not available to out-of-state U.S. citizens.
“This is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division in an official statement announcing the filings.
The lawsuits stem from an executive order signed in April 2025 directing federal authorities to challenge state policies that provide higher education tuition benefits to noncitizens over out-of-state American citizens. Five state laws have already been struck down by federal courts, including in Texas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Illinois. In four of those five instances, state officials joined the federal government rather than defending the state statutes.
National context and state policies
According to data from the Higher Ed Immigration Portal, managed by the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, at least 20 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted policies granting in-state tuition to qualifying undocumented students. Nationally, approximately 525,000 undocumented students are currently enrolled in colleges and universities, with nearly 130,000 eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA.
Education advocates argue that these state laws are designed to recognize long-standing community members who attended local schools rather than grant unfair advantages.
Diego Sánchez, vice president of policy and strategy at the Presidents’ Alliance, described the widespread federal legal action as an unprecedented effort to overturn state policies that have been in place for decades. Sánchez noted that these measures do not offer tuition discounts, but instead allow individuals who grew up in a state and graduated from local high schools to pay the same rates as their peers.
What lies ahead
Lawsuits remain active in a dozen states, including California, Colorado, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia. The cases in Vermont, New York, and Connecticut are now moving through federal district courts, where state officials and higher education leaders will have to determine whether to defend their current statutes or adapt their enrollment policies in response to federal pressure.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by our editorial team.
