The Department of Justice filed a complaint Thursday against Penn State challenging its policy of offering in-state tuition rates to some immigrants in the country illegally, part of a sweeping crackdown by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Two dozen states once offered the tuition breaks, which often had bipartisan support. But as the Trump administration began suing last year, the policies ended in places including Kentucky, Illinois, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Florida. More recent challenges have focused on individual schools, including a lawsuit filed last month against the University of Delaware.
A Penn State spokesperson said the university was aware of the complaint and reviewing it.
The suit against Penn State, which has 86,000 students, comes as the nation looks for clues about how education and immigration policy might shift after a bruising midterm election rout for Republicans.
The federal government argues federal law prevents states from providing preferential benefits to immigrants in the U.S. illegally, regardless of whether or not they meet residency requirements.
“The Department of Justice today continues its efforts to ensure that no state law or university policy gives preferential treatment to illegal aliens over our Nation’s own citizens,” Stanley Woodward, a top Justice Department official, said in a news release.
However, supporters of the tuition breaks argue they don’t violate federal law if they provide the same rates to U.S. citizens in the same circumstances — meaning they are residents of the state and graduates of one of its high schools. Many of the students were brought to the U.S. by their parents when they were children, and supporters of the laws say they are as much a part of their communities as U.S. citizens.