DOJ sues Penn State, arguing the university’s policy that lets undocumented students qualify for in-state tuition unlawfully discriminates against U.S. citizens who live outside Pennsylvania.
In a complaint filed Thursday, the Justice Department said offering in-state rates to undocumented students, including those residing in Pennsylvania, while denying the same rates to U.S. citizens from other states violates federal law. An assistant attorney general for the department’s Civil Division said Congress barred states and public institutions from granting tuition benefits to individuals in the country illegally unless those same benefits are available to all U.S. citizens.
The official said the university has disregarded that mandate and that the department will keep challenging policies that disadvantage American citizens.
The department accused the institution of unlawfully prioritizing undocumented students over citizens and called the policy unconstitutional because it withholds reduced rates from out-of-state U.S. citizens. The lawsuit asks a court to block Penn State from enforcing its policy and to prevent the university from adopting any future tuition rules that favor undocumented students over citizens.
DOJ sues Penn State over tuition policy details
According to the university’s website, undocumented students, with or without Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, may be eligible for in-state tuition if they meet residency criteria. The site says those requirements include attending a Pennsylvania-accredited high school for at least four years and graduating from one, or earning a Pennsylvania GED.
The filing is part of a broader push by the department challenging state and university policies that extend in-state tuition to undocumented students. Officials said Thursday’s case adds to two dozen similar lawsuits, several of which have produced favorable rulings for the federal government in states including Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois and Kansas.
A senior Justice Department official said the agency aims to ensure that no state law or public university policy grants preferential treatment to individuals in the country illegally that is not available to all Americans.
Penn State has been asked for comment on the lawsuit.
