Did you know that 25 states offer in-state college tuition to illegal aliens? Probably not.
And did you know that there is a federal statute that prohibits states from offering in-state tuition to illegal aliens unless a state offers the same tuition break to students from other states? Didn’t think so.
One of the flaws of that statute is that it didn’t provide for a private right of action for individuals or organizations to sue, and the U.S. Justice Department has never enforced it.
There are two ways to close that loophole.
Some History
As we discussed in detail in 2011 in a Heritage Foundation legal memorandum, in 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which was signed into law by Bill Clinton. That act contained a provision, now codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1623, that specifically prohibits states from…
