The U.S. Department of Justice is challenging a Vermont law that requires public colleges to offer undocumented residents the same discounted tuition rates as other students who reside in-state.
A federal lawsuit filed Monday argues that Vermont’s law, which went into effect last year, discriminates against U.S. citizens who live in other states by not providing them the same benefits provided to people who are in the country without authorization.
“This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate in a statement.
A spokesperson for Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark said her office had not been served with the complaint yet and therefore could not comment. Clark has filed or joined dozens of suits challenging Trump administration policies.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges brought by the Trump administration against policies that extend tuition benefits to undocumented immigrants. About half of all U.S. states have such laws on the books, according to the National Immigration Law Center, an advocacy group.
The DOJ has now sued 17 states, including Texas, where a judge last year struck down a law that had provided undocumented students in-state tuition since 2001.
When signing Vermont’s legislation, Gov. Phil Scott said he hoped it would expand education opportunities for New Americans at a time when Vermont’s population is aging and its workforce is shrinking. “We need to do everything we can to reverse these trends and support good careers for all Vermonters,” Scott said in a statement.
The law can result in significant savings. Residents who attend the state college system pay about half of the $22,000 annual tuition charged to out-of-state students. And at the University of Vermont, in-state tuition runs about $17,000, compared to nearly $47,000 for out-of-state students. Undocumented students can also qualify for expanded financial assistance under the law.
It is unclear how many undocumented students currently attend Vermont colleges. The federal lawsuit dubiously claims that the number is as high as 10,000, which would amount to about one out of every four college students.
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