DOJ targets Tim Walz, Minnesota over providing in-state tuition benefits to illegal immigrants

The suit stressed that federal law "prohibits States from providing aliens not lawfully present in the United States with any postsecondary education benefit that is denied to US citizens. That prohibition is categorical, yet Minnesota is flagrantly violating it."

Minnesota statutes "explicitly classify aliens who are not lawfully present in the United States as residents under certain conditions, and thus eligible for reduced tuition and free tuition, respectively, for public state colleges while US citizens from other states must pay higher out-of-state tuition rates and are ineligible for the free tuition," the complaint stated.

The DOJ noted that a federal district court had recently ruled against a similar Texas law under 8 USC section 1623(a), which requires that "that all U.S. citizens be eligible for a benefit, without regard to residency, before any alien not lawfully present in the United States can be eligible to receive the same benefit (based on residency)."

The DOJ called these Minnesota statutes "discrimination against US citizens," noting that tuition for in-state students is "significantly lower" for those out-of-state students. "Out-of-state American citizens therefore pay substantially higher tuition than aliens who are not lawfully present in the United States but meet the Minnesota residency requirement."

Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement, "No state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens. The Department of Justice just won on this exact issue in Texas, and we look forward to taking this fight to Minnesota in order to protect the rights of American citizens first."