Kansas sued over in-state tuition law for undocumented students
The joint filing says the decades-old policy gives undocumented students a residency-based benefit barred by federal law.
- On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a joint motion to strike down a state law allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates at public colleges.
- Enacted in 2004, House Bill 2145 enabled over 5,100 undocumented students to enroll in Kansas colleges, but the Republican-controlled Legislature attempted to repeal it earlier this year until Governor Laura Kelly vetoed the measure.
- Federal prosecutors allege the policy violates federal law by providing benefits to noncitizens unavailable to out-of-state U.S. citizens, representing the 10th lawsuit the Justice Department has filed against states over such tuition policies.
- Governor Laura Kelly filed a motion to intervene, accusing Kobach of refusing to defend state law, while ACLU Kansas executive director Micah Kubic called the move a "cruel misuse of our courts."
- If a judge approves the proposed consent decree, Kansas would become the fifth state to invalidate its tuition policy, while five other states continue to contest similar DOJ lawsuits in court.
16 Articles
16 Articles
The Department of Justice has sued the state of Kansas, with the aim of blocking a 2024 law that allows undocumented immigrants to benefit from tuition for residents of public universities. The DOJ has already filed similar lawsuits in other states, with the aim of taking stronger action against illegal immigration in general. The state attorney general, Kris Kobach, has aligned himself with the DOJ by applying for a court suspension of the law,…
U.S. Justice Department sues Kansas to block in-state tuition for immigrant students
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach promptly joined the Trump administration in a lawsuit seeking to prohibit Kansas universities, colleges and state officials from enforcing a 2004 law that gives in-state tuition rates to certain Kansas students without lawful immigration status.
Kansas Sides With DOJ Against State Tuition Equity Law
The U.S. Department of Justice and Kansas officials swiftly reached an agreement to quash the state’s law allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates, just hours after the DOJ sued over the policy. The proposed consent decree still needs approval from the court to end the state law.
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