U.S Department of Justice sues OK for allowing undocumented students to qualify for in-state college tuition

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Oklahoma over a state law that allows undocumented students to receive in-state tuition for college.

Two decades ago, Texas made history as the first state to give in-state tuition to undocumented students who'd lived and gone to high school there. Twenty-four other states, including Oklahoma, followed their lead.

However, President Donald Trump argues that the state law conflicts with federal law. When this happens, according to the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution, the federal law takes precedence.

Lorena Rivas, an Immigration Attorney, tells News 4, "Because of their legal status, they're being punished."

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond supports the president and jointly filed the lawsuit in an Eastern Oklahoma District Court.

Attorney General Drummond released a statement Tuesday.

Today marks the end of a longstanding exploitation of Oklahoma taxpayers, who for many years have subsidized colleges and universities as they provide unlawful benefits to illegal immigrants in the form of in-state tuition. Rewarding foreign nationals who are in our country illegally with lower tuition costs that are not made available to out-of-state American citizens is not only wrong—it is discriminatory and unlawful. I am proud to stand with President Trump and support his efforts to secure our border, deport criminal illegal immigrants and ensure that benefits intended for American citizens are protected.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond

Attorney Rivas said it's already a challenge for undocumented students to get accepted into college.

"They're not eligible for federal grants. It's not like they're receiving assistance from the government to pay for their college," Attorney Rivas added.

News 4 reached out to the State Board of Regents to ask how many undocumented Oklahoma students are enrolled in universities here and how they plan to adapt. They also sent a statement.

We are aware that the Oklahoma Attorney General filed a joint motion for entry of consent judgment with the U.S. Department of Justice asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma to rule that the current state statute allowing in-state tuition rates for undocumented students violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and is therefore invalid. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education will follow federal law. State system institutions will determine their next steps in concert with their respective campus governing boards. We are currently in the process of determining approximately how many students may be impacted.

Angela Caddell, Vice Chancellor for Communications

I reached out to the Attorney General's office to explain how taxpayers contribute to undocumented students who've grown up in Oklahoma.

They say that since the state subsidizes public colleges and universities, giving them a price break ends up costing taxpayers.

At the University of Oklahoma, for example, in-state tuition is around $10K, and out-of-state tuition is around $28K per year.