Court Strikes Down Nebraska In-State Tuition for Illegal Aliens
“The law is clear. The Nebraska statutes establishing residence requirements for illegal aliens to obtain in-state tuition, while leaving United States citizens from other states to pay full out-of-state tuition, blatantly violate … federal law.”
Two decades of favoring illegal aliens with in-state college tuition rates — a benefit denied U.S. citizens — came to an end in Nebraska on Wednesday, when a federal court declared the practice invalid under the Constitution.
The court’s ruling comes after the U.S. Department of Justice filed its complaint on April 21, challenging Nebraska laws that provided in-state tuition and financial assistance to aliens unlawfully present in the United States. The same day, the DOJ and the State jointly filed a consent decree asking the court to declare the laws in violation of the Supremacy Clause and permanently block the state from enforcing them.
You might think the litigation would end there, seeing how both sides were in agreement. But it did not. The Nebraska federal district court ordered full briefing from the parties before ruling. The proposed decree drew opposition from two nonprofit groups and state Senator Dunixi Guereca, all of whom filed briefs urging the court to reject it.
The two nonprofits — True Potential and Orel Alliance — also sought to intervene and contest it, but the court denied their request. They had shown “nothing more than their disagreement” with the State’s position, Judge Brian Buescher concluded, and were therefore not entitled to intervene.
In his 54-page ruling, Judge Buescher laid to rest the objections of both the senator and the proposed intervenors — including a challenge to the court’s jurisdiction to rule on a case where both parties agreed on the outcome — before turning to the merits. He concluded the consent agreement was fair and reasonable, and not the product of “friendly lawsuit” collusion.
Judge Buescher also denied the nonprofits’ request to pause proceedings pending their expected appeal to the 8th Circuit, writing that allowing the unconstitutional statutes to remain on the books “would be contrary to the public interest.”
And on the merits, “the law is clear,” he wrote: “The Nebraska statutes establishing residence requirements for illegal aliens to obtain in-state tuition, while leaving United States citizens from other states to pay full out-of-state tuition, blatantly violate … federal law.”
Those laws are preempted by federal statute, which explicitly states: “an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State . . . for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit . . . without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.”
Judge Buescher entered the consent decree in full. His order declares the laws invalid under the Supremacy Clause and permanently enjoins Nebraska from enforcing them.
For years, illegal immigrants came to this country knowing that in states like Nebraska, all kinds of benefits, including scholarships and loan subsidies in addition to in-state tuition rates, lay in store — for them, but not for U.S. citizens.
Last year, the DOJ began to crack down on these unlawful incentives to illegal immigration, which are offered in more than 20 states. We have covered its campaign from the beginning — starting with Texas. To date, the DOJ has filed nine lawsuits.
Consent decrees have been entered in Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and now Nebraska. The first three are under appeal.
And in the likely event that the Nebraska ruling is also appealed, the DOJ now has Judge Buescher’s 54-page opinion to build on.
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Comments
“The Nebraska statutes establishing residence requirements for illegal aliens to obtain in-state tuition, while leaving United States citizens from other states to pay full out-of-state tuition, blatantly violate … federal law.”
There must be some loophole. How about if two illegal aliens mate? Their offspring would be legal, right. Then the whole family would be eligible for all kinds of government benefits.
Their children born in the USA would absolutely be legal, US citizens, and if they live in the state they’d be entitled to in-state tuition just like any other legal state resident.
And no, the whole family would not be eligible for anything. Only the citizen child is eligible, not the rest of the family.
” Blatantly violate federal law…”
If they’re known to be illegals, arrest them. They belong on the other side of our borders. Not taking up room at our universities. This shouldn’t be hard to understand.
That is not the state’s job. If ICE wants to arrest them no one is stopping it. But in the meantime the state has no reason not to allow them to attend college. And it’s completely reasonable for the state to charge all residents the same rate, whether they’re legal or not — except that federal law happens to say otherwise. The states have to obey federal law.
Well duh. Another example of Americans paying through the nose while illegals get a free ride.
They weren’t getting a free ride. They were being charged the exact same rate as their next door neighbors. They are residents of Nebraska, and so far the federal government has shown no interest in deporting them, so it makes sense that they should pay the same rate. But there’s a law that says otherwise, so the state has to obey the law. That is all.
“Dunixi Guereca”
Another foreigner with a funny sounding name trying to influence American policy for the worse. If you’re wondering why we keep getting nonsense like in-state tuition for illegal aliens who shouldn’t be in our country,,just look to individuals like Milhouse, who thinks foreigners with funny sounding names are as American as me, a black man whose ancestors was gifted citizenship by the 13th Amendment.
*14th Amendment.
He is not a foreigner, he is just as American as you, but you are a racist piece of shit. If it were possible to revoke US citizenship, I’d revoke yours long before I’d revoke his.
And if it were possible to revoke yours I would do it without hesitation and deprive your heirs and ancestors from ever being considered American, you little cunt bitch.
Millhouse he is a foreigner. Stop being a bitch and man the fuck up over the defense of your own country. It’s sorry white men like you who keep giving this nation to ungrateful foreigners who are doing everything to destroy from within.
He is NOT a foreigner. What makes him more foreign than you? Or than the President? And his views are far less foreign than yours. You are disgusting and a disgrace to America. Racism has no place here, and that is exactly what you are. A racist bigot. Why don’t YOU go back to wherever your ancestors came from? Africa, you said? Fine, go back there.
so then they will just make it so illegals can get the money and the out -of-staters will be able to do the same
the lefty agenda wins until stopped by equal and more opposing forces
ask israel
Out of State tuition is almost certainly too lucrative to Univ to simply eliminate it and have a single rate for both in State and out of State Students. A quick internet search shows a huge difference. In State at $10,500 v tuition charges for out of State at $28,600. FWIW the nest data I found was from 2022 showing the nonresident (out of State) enrollment at Nebraska was 32% of their roughly 25K Students. In comparison the Univ Iowa, Iowa St and Univ Kansas had rates above 40% for out of State students. The higher rates help subsidize lower rates for in State students.
Why did a court even need to weigh in? This is the very definition of common sense.
It isn’t common sense. It’s just the law that Congress chose to make, that’s all. And when you allege that the state is breaking the law, a court has to officially decide whether that is true. Even when it clearly is.
It always pissed me off that a poor kid from NH or RI had to pay full tuition at UMass, but illegal Jose from Honduras paid in state rates.
Stick this ruling up your wide keister Maura Healey.
Because they’re from Massachusetts. They grew up there, their parents pay taxes there, and if they’re not deported they’re likely to remain there.
It’s interesting that woke jurists never seem to inquire whether the dispute before them is “friendly lawsuit collusion.”
I’m depressed at how corn-country Midwest America managed to get this stupidly woke in the first place.
Illegals in this country are not “residents” as Milhouse states. They are here illegally — like squatters who take over private property — and any services they receive as such constitutes getting a “free ride.” That includes paying lower tuition than an American student does. These “free rides” are made possible by the American taxpayer. Period.
Yes, they are residents, you freaking moron. They live here. That is what “resident” means. Or are you illiterate as well as ignorant and stupid? They live there, and they pay the same taxes that their legal neighbors pay, so as far as the state is concerned there’s no more reason to charge them an out-of-state rate than there is to do so to their neighbor. That’s not a free ride; it’s what the state has determined is a fair price.
The only problem is that there happens to be a law against it, and if the state refuses to obey the law why should any of us not do the same.
The only thing wrong with it is that Congress made a law, and the states have to obey that. States that refuse to obey the law can’t expect the rest of us to do so.
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