The Justice Department (DOJ) is adding four more states to the 17 it has already sued for letting illegal aliens get cheap college tuition.
In complaints filed Thursday against Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington, federal attorneys asked courts to block the states from handing out reduced tuition rates, scholarships, and financial aid to illegal aliens. Those same benefits are off limits to American citizens who live in other states.
The argument in all four filings is the same. Federal law bars states from giving higher education benefits to illegal aliens based on where they live unless U.S. citizens get the same deal, no matter what state they are from. The complaints say the four states have been ignoring that rule for years, and in New Mexico’s case, for more than two decades.
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said the states are putting illegal aliens ahead of Americans.
“Over 30 years ago, Congress made clear that States cannot put illegal aliens before our Nation’s own citizens,” Woodward said. “By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, and Arizona are pushing citizens to the side and ignoring federal law. No more.”
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Civil Division put it more bluntly. “This is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” Shumate said. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”
The Arizona complaint puts a dollar figure on it. Citing an investigative report, the DOJ says at least 720 illegal aliens got in-state rates in the fall 2025 semester, including 432 at Arizona State University (ASU). With roughly $24,000 separating resident and nonresident tuition at ASU, the department figures illegal aliens picked up about $10.5 million in reduced tuition at that one school. The same report estimated more than 3,600 a year could qualify going forward.
Washington goes further than the rest. The state runs a loan program built specifically for illegal aliens who meet its residency rules, with the stated goal of matching what citizens receive through federal loans. Americans from other states cannot apply.
The campaign traces back to an executive order Trump signed in April 2025 telling the attorney general to shut down state laws favoring aliens over citizens. The DOJ has worked through the map since, suing Virginia in December.
Thursday’s filings bring the total to 21 states sued, coming weeks after the department went after New York, Connecticut, and Vermont. Five states have already seen their laws struck down, including Texas, Nebraska, and Illinois.
Not every case has gone the DOJ’s way. A federal judge in Minnesota threw out the department’s suit in March, ruling the federal statute does not override the state’s tuition rules.
The department’s posts drew a wave of replies backing the suits.
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