The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Colorado over the alleged offering of in-state tuition and financial aid to illegal immigrants attending public colleges and universities, the latest legal challenge over what critics say amounts to discrimination against U.S. citizens.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Colorado federal court, names the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the state Department of Higher Education and its director, JB Holston, as defendants.
“For three decades, Congress has made clear that Colorado cannot give education benefits to illegal aliens that it does not give to all American citizens,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.
“By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, Colorado is not only violating federal law but subsidizing education for illegal aliens at taxpayers’ expense.
“Our litigation efforts will not cease until we have fulfilled President [Donald] Trump’s promise that illegal aliens will not obtain preferential treatment over our nation’s own citizens.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to both agencies named in the lawsuit for comment.
A spokesperson for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said each state has the right to determine how to grant in-state tuition rates.
“The federal government seizing control of determining in-state tuition across the country is absurd,” the spokesperson told Fox News. “In Colorado, we are expanding access to education to provide students with the skills to get good-paying jobs and doubling down on strategies to save students money.”
The complaint argues that the Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) Act and related state policies violate a federal statute that prohibits states from offering higher education benefits to illegal immigrants based on their residency unless the same benefits are available to all U.S. citizens.
Hellbound and Down 