[snip]
At the center of the legal battle is a massive price discrepancy. The lawsuit points to the University of Virginia as a prime example: for the 2025-2026 academic year, Virginia residents pay roughly $23,897 in tuition, while out-of-state American citizens are charged $62,923.
Federal prosecutors argue that Virginia is violating the Supremacy Clause and a 1996 federal immigration law. That statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1623(a), prohibits states from giving postsecondary education benefits to undocumented immigrants based on residency unless the same benefit is given to any U.S. citizen, regardless of where they live.
[snip]
Virginia law currently allows students who are not lawfully present in the U.S. to qualify for in-state rates if they attended a Virginia high school for two years and their families filed state taxes. The state framework essentially treats these students as residents for tuition purposes.
The Justice Department dismisses this as a workaround, arguing in the filing that states “cannot evade express preemption by a de facto ‘residency’ requirement laundered through the State’s high school attendance or tax filing requirements.”
[snip]
If the court sides with the federal government, Virginia’s public universities would be barred from offering the lower tuition rate to undocumented students unless the state essentially lowers tuition for every American citizen nationwide to the in-state level—a move that would be financially impossible for the state’s university system.
The lawsuit requests that the court declare the relevant sections of the Virginia Code unconstitutional and issue a permanent injunction blocking their enforcement.
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* Original Article:
https://www.tampafp.com/feds-sue-virginia-for-giving-undocumented-students-discounts-denied-to-u-s-citizens/
