Overview

• On Aug. 5, the Justice Department sued in the Eastern District of Oklahoma seeking to enjoin a state law that grants in-state tuition rates to undocumented residents.
• The complaint argues the policy violates the Supremacy Clause by granting benefits to noncitizens that federal law bars unless they are afforded to out-of-state U.S. citizens.
• Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond joined the federal suit with a joint motion, calling the tuition-break law discriminatory and unlawful.
• In June, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declined to defend a similar policy and a federal judge issued a permanent injunction ending tuition equity for about 57,000 students.
• Parallel suits in Kentucky and Minnesota have been filed and remain pending as the DOJ implements President Trump’s April executive orders to withhold taxpayer-funded benefits from undocumented migrants.