The Trump administration has sued California for providing in-state college tuition, scholarships, and state-funded financial aid to students who aren’t legally in the United States.
The Trump administration has sued California for providing in-state college tuition, scholarships, and state-funded financial aid to students who aren’t legally in the United States.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleges the practice harms U.S. citizens and encourages illegal immigration. Among the defendants are the state, top state officials, and the state’s two public university systems, the University of California and California State.
President Donald Trump’s administration has filed similar lawsuits against policies in other states, including Illinois, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Kentucky and Texas. Half the country now has similar laws to California’s.
In June, after the administration sued, Texas ended its decades-old law. And Florida last year scrapped its law that allowed in-state tuition for high school graduates who weren’t in the country legally.
Supporters of the state tuition breaks argue that they don’t violate federal law if they provide the same rates to U.S. citizens in the same circumstances — meaning they are residents of the state and graduates of one of its high schools.
