{"id":3890,"date":"2026-06-29T20:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T20:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890"},"modified":"2026-06-29T20:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T20:06:10","slug":"trumps-doj-sues-r-i-and-mass-over-in-state-tuition-for-undocumented-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s DOJ sues R.I. and Mass. over in-state tuition for undocumented students"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>PROVIDENCE \u2014 The US Department of Justice on Monday filed lawsuits against Rhode Island and Massachusetts, challenging state laws that provide in-state tuition and financial assistance to undocumented students who attend public universities and colleges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3888\">How Israel and Iran are fracturing both parties in the midterms<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>The lawsuits represent the latest in a series of legal challenges the Trump administration has launched in states that provide in-state tuition to students without legal status.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For example, a federal judge in Texas blocked that state\u2019s law giving a tuition break to undocumented students after the state\u2019s Republican attorney general said he supported the legal challenge. But in Minnesota, a federal judge ruled that public universities there can continue to offer in-state tuition and scholarships to some immigrants in the country without legal status.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>\u201cThis Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country,\u201d Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Rhode Map<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>In the complaints, the Department of Justice seeks to halt enforcement of Massachusetts and Rhode Island laws that require colleges and universities to provide in-state tuition rates for residents regardless of immigration status. The complaints alsoaim to stop Massachusetts and Rhode Island from enforcing state laws that providence financial assistance and scholarships to those residents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Department of Justice said it has now filed such lawsuits in 12 states, and it said it has prevailed in Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. It said similar lawsuits are pending in Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, and Kansas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In its complaint, the Department of Justice\u2019s Civil Division said federal law prohibits undocumented residents from receiving resident tuition benefits that are denied to US citizens living in other states. Out-of-state students generally pay higher tuition at public universities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThere are no exceptions,\u201d the complaint said. \u201cYet, Rhode Island has ignored this congressional prohibition for over a decade.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In 2011, the Board of Governors for Higher Education approved a measure that allowed undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates at Rhode Island\u2019s public university and colleges after the General Assembly declined to take up the issue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In 2021, Rhode Island enacted a law that codified that policy, extending in-state tuition to residents regardless of immigration status. To be eligible, students must attend a Rhode Island high school for three years, continue to reside in Rhode Island, and file for lawful immigration status as soon as they\u2019re eligible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3886\">World Cup live updates: Germany and Paraguay set to face off in Boston\u2019s first knockout round match<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cEducation is a promise for a better future, and this bill demonstrates Rhode Island\u2019s commitment to supporting all students,\u201d Governor Daniel J. McKee said at the bill signing. \u201cThis legislation is not only about equity, but an increased access to higher education, which will benefit our community for years to come.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Representative Grace Diaz, a Providence Democrat, introduced the legislation in the House.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAs someone who came to this country with very little, I know first-hand the opportunities that a good education can bring to someone who is willing to work hard,\u201d Diaz, a native of the Dominican Republic, said at the time. \u201cWe have so much untapped potential that has come into our state from all over the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On Monday, a spokesperson for Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said the office had not yet been served with the complaint, but he said the in-state tuition laws \u201chave served all Rhode Islanders well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe\u2019ll therefore have more to say in the coming days, but for now, the public can be reassured that this office will continue to aggressively defend this state\u2019s laws against unlawful overreach by this administration,\u201d spokesperson Timothy M. Rondeau said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Massachusetts has been getting ready to defend the law it passed in 2023 to make in-state public tuition available to some noncitizens. Last year, a spokesperson for Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said her office \u201cwill of course defend Massachusetts law should it be challenged.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Around 3,000 undocumented students graduate from high school every year in Massachusetts, according to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Some young adults brought to the United States as children gained access to in-state tuition, as well as protection from deportation, under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. However, DACA is not processing new applications for these Dreamers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Passed in the summer of 2023, Massachusetts\u2019 Tuition Equity Law extends eligibility for in-state tuition at public universities and colleges to people who attended and graduated from a high school in Massachusetts, giving qualified undocumented students access to the same discounted rates as their US-born peers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3884\">Facing \u2018federal uncertainty,\u2019 Mass. lawmakers say they have state budget deal days before fiscal year begins<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cThis Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country,\u201d an assistant attorney general said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trump\u2019s DOJ sues R.I. and Mass. over in-state tuition for undocumented students - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump\u2019s DOJ sues R.I. and Mass. over in-state tuition for undocumented students - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThis Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country,\u201d an assistant attorney general said.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T20:06:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"Trump\u2019s DOJ sues R.I. and Mass. over in-state tuition for undocumented students\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T20:06:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890\"},\"wordCount\":831,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fcd254e2eeaeb89e6eef0bc61bec741d.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890\",\"name\":\"Trump\u2019s DOJ sues R.I. and Mass. over in-state tuition for undocumented students - Boston Relocation Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fcd254e2eeaeb89e6eef0bc61bec741d.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T20:06:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fcd254e2eeaeb89e6eef0bc61bec741d.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/fcd254e2eeaeb89e6eef0bc61bec741d.avif\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":810},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=3890#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump\u2019s DOJ sues R.I. and Mass. over in-state tuition for undocumented students\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boston Relocation Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump\u2019s DOJ sues R.I. and Mass. over in-state tuition for undocumented students - Boston Relocation Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump\u2019s DOJ sues R.I. and Mass. over in-state tuition for undocumented students - Boston Relocation Insider","og_description":"\u201cThis Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country,\u201d an assistant attorney general said.","og_url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890","og_site_name":"Boston Relocation Insider","article_published_time":"2026-06-29T20:06:10+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"headline":"Trump\u2019s DOJ sues R.I. and Mass. over in-state tuition for undocumented students","datePublished":"2026-06-29T20:06:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890"},"wordCount":831,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fcd254e2eeaeb89e6eef0bc61bec741d.avif","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890","name":"Trump\u2019s DOJ sues R.I. and Mass. over in-state tuition for undocumented students - Boston Relocation Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fcd254e2eeaeb89e6eef0bc61bec741d.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-29T20:06:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fcd254e2eeaeb89e6eef0bc61bec741d.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fcd254e2eeaeb89e6eef0bc61bec741d.avif","width":1440,"height":810},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3890#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump\u2019s DOJ sues R.I. and Mass. over in-state tuition for undocumented students"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/","name":"Boston Relocation Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}