SALT LAKE CITY — The Department of Justice is suing Utah for allowing some undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at state-owned colleges and universities — a move the department argues stands to “undermine federal law.”
President Donald Trump’s DOJ alleges the tuition break favors people who aren’t in the country legally over U.S. citizens who don’t receive the same benefit. Utah was one of three states the agency sued Thursday, along with Washington, D.C.
The state allowance dates back to 2002, when Utah’s Republican-dominated Legislature passed a law allowing undocumented immigrants who are high school graduates and have applied for lawful residency to get a break on tuition — paying the in-state cost, rather than the higher amount charged to out-of-state students.
Such students are not eligible for federal financial aid, but are eligible for some state scholarship programs.
The DOJ had previously sued 21 other states over similar laws with courts in six states — Texas, Kansas, Illinois, South Dakota, Nebraska and Oklahoma — ruling the in-state tuition statutes were unconstitutional.
The Utah System of Higher Education, which is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, said in a statement Thursday that “education is the heart of our mission.”
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