Politics1 min read

US Justice Department sues Penn State over undocumented students’ tuition

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Under Penn State’s contested policy, undocumented non-citizens qualify for resident tuition rates if they attended an accredited Pennsylvania high school for at least four years and graduated. The Justice Department argues this directly violates the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which prohibits public colleges from granting preferential benefits based on undocumented status without offering them to all U.S. citizens. Advocates counter that these measures preserve local talent and ease higher education barriers for individuals brought to the country as minors. Penn State confirmed it is aware of the lawsuit and is currently reviewing the complaint.

Key points

  • Federal law prohibits public universities from offering preferential postsecondary educat…: Federal law prohibits public universities from offering preferential postsecondary educational benefits to undocumented students over out-of-state U.S. citizens.
  • Court rulings in several states including Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois,…: Court rulings in several states including Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois, and Kansas have already permanently blocked comparable tuition practices.
  • The outcome of the lawsuit could eliminate reduced college tuition pathways for undocumen…: The outcome of the lawsuit could eliminate reduced college tuition pathways for undocumented immigrants living in Pennsylvania.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

The lawsuit challenges Penn State’s policy that allows undocumented students to qualify for reduced tuition rates.

The United States Department of Justice has sued Pennsylvania State University, accusing the institution of violating federal law by offering in-state tuition rates to undocumented students while denying the same reduced rates to all US citizens.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, argues that the university’s tuition policy discriminates against citizens.

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Currently, undocumented students can qualify for in-state tuition if they meet Penn State’s residency standards.

But prosecutors have rejected that policy, saying it violates a federal law that bars “preferential treatment” in higher education for undocumented immigrants, unless the same benefits are available to US citizens.

In the US, public universities typically charge lower tuition to students who are residents of the state where the…

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