The Justice Department, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, has sued seven states challenging their tuition policies for undocumented students.
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The Justice Department is challenging a state law in Virginia that allows eligible undocumented students to pay in-state tuition.
This is the seventh state the Trump administration has sued over such policies. Some states fought the Justice Department, and several Republican-led states quickly agreed to stop offering in-state tuition to undocumented students. The rapid changes in policy have caused confusion and chaos for students as they scramble to find ways to pay for their tuition. Some advocacy groups have sought to join the lawsuit challenging the Justice Department.
Trump’s lawyers argued in the Virginia lawsuit and elsewhere that such policies discriminate against U.S. citizens because out-of-state students are ineligible for in-state tuition. In Virginia, undocumented students are eligible for a reduced tax rate if they graduate from a state high school and they or their parents filed a Virginia income tax return at least two years before enrolling in a postsecondary institution.
The Justice Department is asking a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia to bar the state from enforcing a law that provides in-state tuition to undocumented students.
The lawsuit comes amid a transition of power in Virginia, so it’s unclear how the state will respond to the legal challenge. The state is currently led by Republicans, but the governor-elect, Democrat Abigail Spanberger, will take over on January 17. Neither current officials nor Spanberger responded to requests for comment. washington postRequest for comment.
