DOJ sues California over in-state tuition for undocumented students
Laura Spitalniak
November 21, 2025
The lawsuit is the sixth the agency has filed under the Trump administration over state laws waiving out-of-state tuition for eligible undocumented students.
Dive Brief:
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing California over its laws allowing certain undocumented college students to pay in-state tuition rates at public colleges and receive state-administered scholarships.
In a Thursday court filing, the agency argued that in-state tuition rates for undocumented students illegally provide benefits not offered to all U.S. citizens and asked a federal judge to rule California’s laws unconstitutional.
The lawsuit, which also names as defendants Gov. Gavin Newsom and the governing boards of California’s three public college systems, marks the sixth the DOJ has brought against states with in-state tuition policies for certain undocumented students.
