Overview

• The lawsuit filed June 25 in the District of Minnesota challenges the 2013 Minnesota Dream Act, which sets in-state tuition rates and offers free tuition to undocumented students who meet income criteria.
• The Justice Department argues federal law bars postsecondary education benefits for noncitizens that are not provided to US citizens, rendering the state law unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause.
• Attorney General Pamela Bondi framed the Minnesota case as a continuation of the department’s recent win in Texas, where a lawsuit prompted the state to end similar tuition programs.
• The legal action implements President Trump’s March executive order instructing the DOJ to target state and local policies that favor undocumented immigrants over American citizens.
• Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and the Minnesota Office of Higher Education are named defendants in the complaint.