WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Justice filed lawsuits against Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Arkansas, and Utah on September 10, 2026. The filings challenge state laws and regulations that provide in-state tuition rates to non-citizens regardless of lawful presence status.

With these final four complaints, the Department of Justice has filed a total of 25 lawsuits challenging in-state tuition for non-citizens. Six previous lawsuits in Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois, and Kansas resulted in favorable orders permanently enjoining and declaring unconstitutional laws granting reduced tuition to non-citizens.

Lawsuits regarding similar state laws are pending in Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Colorado, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.

Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. stated that the department had reached every jurisdiction with such policies. He said the department had now sued every state across the nation that has a state law or regulation granting non-citizens in-state tuition.

Woodward added that no more placing non-citizens over American citizens would occur on the Department of Justice’s watch. He said the department looks forward to favorable court rulings and will continue to deliver on President Trump’s promise that non-citizens will not receive benefits denied to American citizens.

Why It Matters

The completion of this filing round signifies that the Department of Justice has initiated legal action against every state identified as having laws granting in-state tuition to non-citizens. The scale of the effort involves 25 total lawsuits, indicating a broad federal challenge to state-level education policies. The department seeks to establish that federal law preempts state regulations providing financial advantages to individuals without lawful presence status.

The legal strategy relies on prior judicial outcomes in six states where courts declared similar laws unconstitutional. The pending litigation in fifteen other jurisdictions suggests the dispute will continue through the federal court system. The department's stated goal is to ensure that benefits are not extended to non-citizens if they are denied to U.S. citizens.

Timeline

On September 10, 2026, the Department of Justice filed lawsuits against Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Arkansas, and Utah. On that same date, the lawsuits sought to enjoin the enforcement of laws providing financial assistance and scholarships to non-citizens in those jurisdictions. Also on September 10, 2026, Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said this is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to non-citizens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens.

On September 10, 2026, Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. said the department has now sued every state across the nation that has a state law or regulation granting non-citizens in-state tuition. On that date, he also said no more placing non-citizens over American citizens would occur on the Department of Justice’s watch. Also on September 10, 2026, Woodward said the department looks forward to favorable court rulings and will continue to deliver on President Trump’s promise that non-citizens will not receive benefits denied to American citizens. On September 10, 2026, Shumate said the Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country. As of September 10, 2026, the number of lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice against states with laws granting in-state tuition to non-citizens reached 25. On that date, the Department of Justice had filed a total of 25 lawsuits challenging in-state tuition for non-citizens.

What's New

Later reporting indicated that the number of lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice against states with laws granting in-state tuition to non-citizens reached 25 as of September 10, 2026. Additional records show the Justice Department published notice titled Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection eComments Requested; Revision and Extension of a Previously Approved Collection; Certification and Release of Records (Form EOIR-59) on 2026-09-11. Reference material identifying the Department of Justice as an executive department of the Philippines has been removed as erroneous.