A judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit over Minnesota in-state tuition for students without legal status

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 8:32 PM EDT, March 27, 2026


Minnesota public universities can continue to offer in-state tuition and scholarships to some immigrants in the country without legal status, a federal judge ruled on Friday, dismissing a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice last summer that attempted to halt the programs. The decision follows a series of clashes between the federal government and Minnesota officials over immigration enforcement. United States District Judge Katherine Menendez said in her decision that the federal government failed to prove that programs offering in-state tuition for immigrants without legal status discriminated against U.S. citizens.

The federal lawsuit named Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic state Attorney General Keith Ellison as defendants, along with the state’s Office of Higher Education. It said Minnesota law discriminates against U.S. citizens because it provides in-state tuition and scholarships to students living in the U.S. illegally if they attended a Minnesota high school for three years, and U.S. citizens who attended schools outside of the state cannot receive the same benefits. States generally set higher tuition rates for out-of-state students.

The federal government said those state statutes “flagrantly” violate a federal law that prevents states from providing preferential benefits to immigrants in the U.S. illegally regardless of whether or not they meet residency requirements.
“No state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens,” Bondi said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed last year.

Menendez said the Justice Department misinterpreted the law, passed by Democratic former President Bill Clinton, because anyone who attended a Minnesota high school for at least three years are granted the same public benefits, regardless of where they have U.S. residency or immigration status.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-public-school-tuition-immigrant-benefits-4d68ff8cfa317884a4d28e20c1e735cb

[republianmushroom]

1. Thank you, Judge Menendez .