The Justice Department secured another victory in its campaign against state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants on Wednesday after a federal judge struck down a Nebraska law that allowed certain students in the country illegally to qualify for in-state tuition rates for nearly two decades.
U.S. District Judge Brian Buescher, an appointee of President Donald Trump, ruled that Nebraska’s 2006 law conflicts with federal immigration law and permanently barred the state from enforcing it. The decision came after the DOJ sued Nebraska in April, arguing the state’s tuition and scholarship policies unlawfully granted benefits to illegal immigrants that were unavailable to some U.S. citizens.
“The Nebraska statutes establishing residence requirements for illegal aliens to obtain in-state tuition, while leaving United States citizens from other states to pay full out-of-state tuition, blatantly violate” federal law, Buescher wrote in his 54-page opinion.
Under the now-invalidated law, students in the country illegally could qualify for in-state tuition if they graduated from a Nebraska high school and lived in the state for at least three years, among other requirements.
The lawsuit centered on a provision of federal law stating that an illegal immigrant in the United States cannot receive a postsecondary education benefit based on state residency unless the same benefit is available to all U.S. citizens. Because out-of-state residents were required to pay higher tuition rates than some illegal immigrant students, both the DOJ and Nebraska argued the state law was preempted by federal law.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, a Republican, welcomed the ruling.
“Federal law is clear: no benefits can be extended to illegal immigrants that aren’t available to American citizens,” Hilgers said in a statement. “The court enjoined several unconstitutional laws that did just that. We are grateful for the court’s consideration and result.”
The ruling marks the latest success in a broader DOJ effort targeting similar tuition policies around the country. States including Kentucky, Texas, and Oklahoma have already agreed to end comparable programs after facing federal lawsuits. New Jersey, Virginia, and Minnesota continue to defend their laws in ongoing litigation.
Former DOJ attorney Abhishek Kambli said the Nebraska decision is part of a largely overlooked legal campaign to enforce federal immigration statutes that many states have ignored for years.
“A lot of focus has been on DOJ losses, but under the radar are victories like this that largely go unnoticed,” Kambli posted on X. He noted that more than 20 states have enacted laws providing in-state tuition to illegal immigrants despite a federal statute prohibiting the practice.
“If states can flout federal law by passing laws that are expressly preempted, the Supremacy Clause loses all its meaning,” Kambli added.
The judge also rejected arguments from two outside organizations, True Potential and the Orel Alliance, that sought to intervene in the case and delay a final ruling while pursuing an appeal. Buescher concluded neither group had standing to intervene and said allowing potentially unconstitutional statutes to remain in effect through another academic year would not serve the public interest.
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate celebrated the outcome on social media, declaring, “No more in-state tuition benefits for illegal aliens in Nebraska.”
KENTUCKY BLOCKS IN-STATE TUITION OFFERINGS TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward likewise hailed the ruling, arguing Nebraska taxpayers would no longer be required to subsidize tuition benefits unavailable to all American citizens.
“This is a simple matter of federal law,” Woodward posted on X. “In Nebraska and nationwide, colleges and universities cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens.”
