Federal judge strikes down Illinois sanctuary policy granting illegal immigrants in-state tuition, financial aid

On Friday, US Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft announced that the US District Court ruled in favor of the federal government’s lawsuit against the State of Illinois and Governor JB Pritzker. The court denied the state’s motion to dismiss and declared that Illinois’ in-state tuition rules for public universities and community colleges, its RISE Act, and the Illinois DREAM Act are “unconstitutional and invalid.”

The RISE Act, signed by Pritzker in 2019, allows certain students who are in the country illegally to qualify for state financial aid. Eligible students must have graduated from an Illinois high school, attend an in-state school for at least three years, and pledge to file an application to become a permanent US resident once eligible.

In the ruling, US District Judge David W. Dugan wrote, “Put simply, U.S. citizens or nationals must be treated no worse than illegal aliens."

The US Department of Justice filed the lawsuit in September of last year, arguing that Illinois was violating federal law by providing tuition benefits to illegal immigrants that were unavailable to many US citizens living outside the state.

“Illinois sought to incentivize illegal immigration on the taxpayer’s dime by treating illegal aliens better than U.S. citizens living in other states, in clear violation of federal law,” said Weinhoeft. “This ruling enforces the statute Congress wrote and stops the State from putting illegal aliens ahead of American citizens.”

Republican congresswoman Mary Miller celebrated the decision in a post on X, writing, “A federal judge just struck down multiple Illinois laws, including those signed by J.B. Pritzker, that give illegal aliens in-state tuition, financial aid, and scholarships. This is a win for Illinois taxpayers and American students who were shut out while Pritzker prioritized foreigners in our country illegally.”