Trump administration sues California over giving in-state tuition to immigrants in US illegally

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump administration has sued California for providing in-state college tuition, scholarships, and state-funded financial aid to students who do not have legal status to be 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. The California Dream Act also allows such students to apply for state-funded financial aid.

Many of the students were brought to the U.S. by their parents when they were children, and supporters of the laws say they are as much a part of their communities as U.S. citizens.

It is the latest action by Trump’s administration since he issued executive orders in February directing federal agencies to stop public benefits from going to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and to challenge state and local policies seen as favoring those immigrants over some citizens. The lawsuit argues that the Republican president’s orders enforce federal immigration laws.

“California is illegally discriminating against American students and families by offering exclusive tuition benefits for non-citizens,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “This marks our third lawsuit against California in one week — we will continue bringing litigation against California until the state ceases its flagrant disregard for federal law.”

The Justice Department also sued to block new congressional district boundaries approved by California voters last week, and over California’s new laws banning federal agents from wearing masks and requiring them to have identification while conducting operations in the state.

The University of California defended its decades-old in-state tuition policy.

“While we will, of course, comply with the law as determined by the courts, we believe our policies and practices are consistent with current legal standards,” it said in a statement.

The lawsuit comes weeks after the California Supreme Court let stand a lower-court ruling that the University of California’s policy barring students without legal status in the U.S. from campus jobs is discriminatory and must be reconsidered.

University system officials had warned that the decision would put them in a precarious position as they negotiate with the Trump administration after the withdrawal of federal research funds.

The UC is dealing with federal grant suspensions and a White House demand that it pay a $1 billion fine over allegations including antisemitism and the illegal consideration of race in admitting students to its Los Angeles campus.

The California State University system is the nation’s largest and among its most diverse, with more than 460,000 students. More than a quarter of undergraduates are first-generation college students, according to the university system.

The University of California serves about 300,000 students.