In Nebraska, illegal immigrants will no longer be able to access in-state tuition, as the state has agreed to halt enforcement of a two-decade-old law deemed unconstitutional by the Trump administration.
A consent decree proposed on Tuesday, pending court approval, involves Nebraska’s decision to stop enforcing a law that improperly grants in-state tuition discounts and financial aid to certain individuals within the state. This agreement followed a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against Nebraska.
The Justice Department contended in its lawsuit that Nebraska’s law allowed some students—which could include those without legal status—to qualify for reduced tuition, while U.S. citizens from other states were denied similar benefits, which could violate federal regulations.
The lawsuit sought to have a federal court invalidate those provisions and to prevent Nebraska from enforcing them. Shortly thereafter, both the United States and Nebraska proposed a decree to permanently block any participation in this law.
Deputy Attorney General Stanley Woodward criticized the longstanding law, saying it prioritized the interests of illegal aliens over American citizens. He urged other states to follow Nebraska’s lead in correcting policies that favor undocumented individuals in ways not available to American citizens.
Concerns about this law date back to 2006, when Nebraska was said to have neglected federal regulations prohibiting illegal immigrants from obtaining in-state tuition privileges that out-of-state citizens cannot access.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate pointed out that this unconstitutional law never should have been enacted in the first place.
“Nebraska’s law is not only unconstitutional but contradicts American values,” Shumate added, mentioning past victories against similar laws in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky, and conveying a commitment to champion compliance with federal regulations where they are not followed.
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen expressed support for the legal agreement, affirming that residents expect undocumented immigrants not to receive reduced tuition benefits. He remarked that the state’s previous law was misguided and unconstitutional, and praised the cooperative effort with the Department of Justice to rectify the situation.
This lawsuit represents the eighth in a series of similar actions taken by the Justice Department against state laws perceived to favor undocumented immigrants over U.S. citizens. Previous victories have occurred in states like Texas, while other cases are ongoing in places like Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia, and California.
