Illegal immigrants will no longer get the benefit of lower, in-state tuition in Kentucky after a lawsuit by Attorney General Pam Bondi resulted in a settlement to end the practice.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman told Fox News Digital of the agreement between the federal government and commonwealth educators in an interview on Thursday.
Coleman told the news outlet that the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (KCPE) agreed to change state policy two months after the Justice Department filed suit, alleging Kentucky’s tuition practice violated federal law.
“Under current federal law, any illegal immigrant is barred from eligibility for postsecondary education benefits, like in-state tuition, unless the same benefits are offered to every U.S. citizen,” Coleman said.
“No state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi when the suit was filed in June.
The lawsuit was built on a previous successful lawsuit against Texas educators over a similar in-state tuition practice favorable to illegal aliens, according to the Department of Justice.
Coleman said the original policy incentivized noncitizens to come to Kentucky over other states that did not offer the in-state discounts.
Coleman said that the decision is not official until the federal district judge signs the agreement between the parties, though he said that is typically a formality.
The commonwealth attorney general said the KCEP had to offer in-state tuition based on Kentucky administrative regulation.
“I do applaud the fact that (KCPE) did the right thing and followed the law,” he told Fox Digital. “But it took the Justice Department and all of its legal leverage and the chief law enforcement officer of the state opining on the legality before they did right thing. That’s disappointing.”
The agreement, if signed by a judge, would signal the end to a Latino civil rights organization’s attempt to stop the in-state benefit.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) recently filed a motion that argued the federal government did not have the constitutional right to stop the local practice.
MALDEF’s motion stated that if the regulation was overturned, the affected students’ tuition could increase up to 152 percent, some from $446 to $897 per semester credit hour.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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