The DOJ Just Filed Its Latest Lawsuit Against a Blue State Over Tuition Benefits for Illegal Immigrants

The Department of Justice has filed its 13th lawsuit challenging state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants, this time targeting Maryland.

Since 2011, Maryland law has allowed illegal immigrants who pay taxes and whose children graduated from state high schools to receive in-state college tuition rates. The DOJ argues this violates federal law by treating American citizens as second-class.

“Congress long ago made clear that Maryland cannot deny educational opportunities to American citizens that it gives to illegal aliens in the State,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. The department estimated the policy costs Maryland taxpayers roughly $9 million for a single academic year.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown pushed back, saying the lawsuit seeks to take opportunity from students who grew up and graduated in the state. House of Delegates Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk defended the policy as supporting an educated workforce and argued the federal government should not override state democratic choices.

Corey DeAngelis of the Heritage Foundation said the DOJ is standing up for taxpayers. “American students don’t get a discount on tuition, yet people here illegally are receiving that benefit at the expense of hardworking American families,” he noted.

Several other states have already settled similar DOJ challenges by declaring such tuition breaks unconstitutional. The Maryland case continues the administration’s broader effort to end preferential treatment for illegal immigrants in state benefit programs.