DOJ sues states offering in state tuition to illegals

 Daily Signal:

Attention, all parents and college students worried about the ever-rising cost of college tuition. The Department of Justice has finally—after three decades—started enforcing the federal law that prohibits states from offering in-state tuition to illegal aliens unless they also offer in-state tuition to everyone else—including all citizen students from out of state.

The law it’s enforcing has existed since 1996, when Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.

Buried inside that huge law was Section 505, codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1623, which prohibits state colleges and universities from providing in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens “on the basis of residence within the State” unless the same in-state rates are offered to all citizens of the United States.

In English, that means that states that offer in-state tuition to illegal aliens also have to offer in-state tuition to everyone. That means you!

Section 505 is still the law of the land—as we wrote back in 2011.

But the problem is that the law did not include a private right of action, meaning everyday individuals could not sue and win. Only the U.S. government, through the Department of Justice, could sue states and universities to enforce the plain language of the law.

So, the law sat like a Caryatid for over three decades, staring out into space, standing tall, but supporting nothing except higher tuition costs for American citizens who have been subsidizing the tuition of illegal aliens.

That was true until recently.

Earlier this month, we wrote about how under the leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi, the DOJ successfully sued Texas for offering in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens while charging non-Texan American students higher rates. Texas waved the white flag immediately and settled the case by entering into a consent decree to correct the illegal practice.

High off its easy win, the department has embarked on a state-by-state crusade, filing complaints against Kentucky on June 17 and Minnesota on June 25 for the same blatant violation of federal law. Both states offer in-state tuition to illegal aliens while demanding higher out-of-state tuition from American citizens who reside elsewhere.

These price differences aren’t trivial.

According to one figure, the average cost of in-state tuition and fees at a public four-year college in Kentucky is $11,299. That’s only 3.71% higher than the national average for a public college. But the average cost of out-of-state tuition and fees at a public four-year college in Kentucky is $26,640, more than twice as much.
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While the recent lawsuits against Minnesota and Kentucky are a great start, other states are also actively violating federal law by offering in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens while not offering the same to out-of-state students. The scofflaws are Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Nebraska, New Mexico, Kansas, Illinois, Florida, Colorado, Virginia, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York.
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It is not clear why states were offering a better deal to illegal aliens than they were to out of state residents.  It makes more sense that they should both be treated the same.  The tuition in Texas is now significantly higher than it was when I was a student at the University of Texas.  Back then in state tuition was $50 a semester with fees add another $30 to $40.  It is significantly higher for both now.