The Trump administration is suing Minnesota over breaks in higher education for immigrant students

Minnesota became the latest state Wednesday to face a lawsuit from the Trump administration seeking to force it to give its high school graduates who entered the U S illegally as immigrants the same lower tuition rates reserved for in-state citizens The U S Department of Justice s lawsuit also seeks to strike down a law that allows the same immigrant students to receive scholarships covering part or all of their tuition under the state s North Star Promise scheme The department filed its occurrence in federal district court in Minnesota naming Democratic Gov Tim Walz and Democratic state Attorney General Keith Ellison as defendants along with the state s Office of Higher Teaching Related With the University of Minnesota under a microscope Legislature punts on Board of Regents appointments The Justice Department has filed similar lawsuits this month against policies in Kentucky and Texas Last week a federal judge in Texas blocked that state s law giving a tuition break to students living in the U S illegally after the state s Republican attorney general Ken Paxton announced he supported the legal challenge Walz s office explained it is reviewing the lawsuit to better understand what this means for the state Justice Department says state discriminates against US citizens The lawsuit argued that Minnesota is flagrantly violating a federal law that prevents states from providing a benefit in higher guidance to resident students living in the U S illegally if U S citizens cannot receive the same benefits States generally set higher tuition rates for out-of-state students Also President Donald Trump issued executive orders in February directing federal agencies to see that inhabitants benefits do not go to immigrants living in the U S illegally and to challenge state and local policies seen as favoring those immigrants over chosen citizens The lawsuit argues that the Republican president s orders enforce federal immigration laws The lawsuit also argues that Minnesota s policies discriminate against U S citizens No state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens U S Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated in a report More lawsuits could be coming The Justice Department s lawsuit in Minnesota noted the cases filed earlier this month in Kentucky and Texas but did not mention any other states as promising targets of litigation However in discussing the Texas episode Bondi has suggested more lawsuits might be coming Last year Florida ended its tuition break for students living there illegally but at least states have laws or policies granting them in addition to the University of Michigan system according to the National Immigration Law Center which favors them Those states include Democratic-leaning ones such as California and New York but also GOP-leaning ones like Kansas and Nebraska According to the center at least states allow the immigrant students to receive scholarships or other aid to go to college States deny discrimination against US citizens Supporters of the state tuition breaks argue that 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 Generally states have imposed other requirements For example Minnesota requires male students to have registered with the U S Selective Amenity System and all students to be seeking legal resident status if that s doable Backers of the laws also argue that the students generally were brought to the U S illegally by their parents often when they were far younger and are as much a part of their local communities as U S -born students Also they contend that such immigrants tend to be motivated high achievers The post The Trump administration is suing Minnesota over breaks in higher mentoring for immigrant students appeared first on MinnPost