Trump administration sues Maryland over college tuition for students living in the US illegally

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Thursday against the state of Maryland over policies that offer students living in the country without legal permission in-state tuition at public colleges.

The lawsuit, which also names the Maryland Higher Education Commission and the University System of Maryland Board of Regents as defendants, argues that granting such immigrants who live in Maryland in-state tuition unconstitutionally discriminates against U.S. citizens and creates incentives for illegal immigration.

“This is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said in a statement. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”

Students living in the country without legal permission don’t qualify for federal financial aid, which means they’re limited in how they can pay for college. In Maryland, these students can receive in-state tuition if they attended high school in Maryland and submit two years of their family’s tax returns to show residency.

About 2,000 such students graduate from high schools in Maryland each year. According to a presentation released by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, 496 students living in the country illegally were receiving in-state tuition at the state’s community colleges and 309 paying in-state rates at public universities.

Officials at the higher education commission and university system did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

But some of the state’s Democratic leaders criticized the lawsuit.

“Today, the Department of Justice sued to take away an opportunity from Maryland students who grew up here, graduated from school here, and are working to pursue something more for themselves, their families, and the communities in which they live,” said Anthony Brown, Maryland’s attorney general. “We are reviewing the complaint closely. We will respond through the courts, as we do whenever Maryland’s laws are challenged, and we will keep fighting for the young people in our state and their futures.”

Since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, the DOJ has issued 13 challenges to states offering in-state tuition to these students. Similar policies in Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Nebraska have ended following DOJ lawsuits, while challenges in Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Kansas, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are pending.

In Thursday’s lawsuit, the federal government argued that, from summer 2024 to spring 2025, students living in the country without legal permission saved nearly $9 million in tuition costs at Maryland community colleges and public four-year universities by receiving in-state tuition benefits.

The DOJ argues the policy is illegal because the state’s public universities don’t offer in-state tuition to all American citizens, which it believes shows a preference for noncitizens.

“Illegal aliens present in the United States are not eligible for postsecondary education benefits based on state residency unless those same benefits are also offered to all American citizens, regardless of their state of residence,” the lawsuit argues.

The Justice Department also cited an executive order signed by Trump in February 2025, ordering federal departments and agencies to “ensure, to the maximum extent permitted by law, that no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.”

Maryland House Speaker Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk said the lawsuit was “another example of the federal government asking the courts to override policy choices made by states through the democratic process.”

“We remain confident in the integrity of Maryland law and will continue working to expand educational opportunity while defending the laws enacted on behalf of the people of our state,” the speaker said.

This article has been updated.

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