Justice Department sues Colorado over in-state tuition and financial aid for illegal immigrants

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Colorado over the offering of in-state tuition and financial aid for illegal immigrants attending public colleges and universities, the latest legal challenge over what critics say amounts to discrimination against U.S. citizens.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Colorado federal court, names the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the state Department of Higher Education, and its director, JB Holston, as defendants.

"For three decades, Congress has made clear that Colorado cannot give education benefits to illegal aliens that it does not give to all American citizens," said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. "By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, Colorado is not only violating federal law but subsidizing education for illegal aliens at taxpayers’ expense."

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"Our litigation efforts will not cease until we have fulfilled President [Donald] Trump’s promise that illegal aliens will not obtain preferential treatment over our Nation’s own citizens," Woodward added.

Fox News Digital has reached out to both agencies named in the lawsuit for comment, along with the office of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

The complaint argues that the Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) Act and related state policies violate a federal statute that prohibits states from offering higher education benefits to illegal immigrants based on their residency, unless the same benefits are available to all U.S. citizens.

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In an effort to expand access to those benefits, Colorado reduced the high school attendance requirement from three years to one year, and removed a requirement that students must be admitted to college within 12 months of graduating from high school, according to the federal complaint.

The state also repealed a requirement that mandated illegal immigrant students submit an affidavit stating they had applied for lawful presence or would apply as soon as they were eligible, the complaint states.

By providing lower tuition rates and state-funded scholarships to local illegal immigrants while denying them to out-of-state citizens, Colorado is accused of creating an unconstitutional preference that is preempted by federal authorities.

The Justice Department also argues that lower tuition incentivizes illegal immigration and rewards them for breaking the nation's laws.

Thursday's lawsuit marks the fourteenth launched by the Trump administration challenging in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.

"This Department of Justice is committed to fulfilling President Trump’s promise that illegal aliens will not obtain taxpayer benefits or preferential treatment over our own citizens," the Justice Department said.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare several Colorado state laws associated with the matter unconstitutional, as well as award court fees.