A district court judge tossed out the Trump administration’s lawsuit on March 27 against Minnesota laws that allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates, or in some cases have tuition waived, for college and university classes, ruling that the state law doesn’t violate federal law.
Judge Katherine Menendez of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota granted the state’s motion to dismiss the Department of Justice’s lawsuit, filed on June 25, 2025, finding that in-state tuition rules didn’t discriminate against citizens.
“As Defendants point out, there are multiple ways a student could qualify for Resident Tuition without residing in Minnesota, such as attending a Minnesota high school while living in a neighboring state, or by attending a Minnesota boarding school,” Menendez wrote in the decision.
The federal government sued Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other state officials over the state’s laws that allow foreign nationals to receive lower or free college tuition.
Minnesota law states that any student, other than a non-immigrant alien, can qualify for a resident tuition rate at state universities and colleges if they attend high school in the state for at least three years and graduate from a state high school or get a high school equivalent degree.
The law also states that illegal immigrants must give the state proof that they have complied with federal selective service registration requirements and have filed to obtain lawful immigration status in order to qualify for in-state tuition.
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