The 'Outnumbered' panel discusses a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice against Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom over college tuition breaks being offered to illegal immigrants.
Nebraska ends in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants under DOJ deal
by Kristine Parks · Fox NewsNEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Illegal immigrants in Nebraska will no longer receive in-state tuition after the state agreed to stop enforcing a two-decade-old law the Trump administration called unconstitutional.
Under a proposed consent decree filed Tuesday and still awaiting court approval, Nebraska agreed not to enforce laws that allow reduced in-state tuition and certain financial aid benefits for people in the country illegally. The agreement came hours after the Justice Department sued the state.
In its federal lawsuit, the Justice Department argued that Nebraska’s laws violate federal law by allowing some students in the country to illegally qualify for reduced in-state tuition rates and state financial aid, while U.S. citizens from other states may not qualify for the same benefits.
The complaint asked a federal judge to strike down those provisions and bar Nebraska from enforcing them. Later that same day, the United States and Nebraska jointly filed the proposed consent decree, which asks the court to permanently enjoin the challenged laws.
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"For two decades, the Nebraska legislature gave preferential treatment to illegal aliens over American citizens," Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in an announcement Tuesday.
"We encourage all states to follow the commonsense correction of Attorney General (Mike) Hilgers, ceasing any policy that rewards illegal entry into our nation with educational opportunities not available to U.S. citizens."
The DOJ said that, since 2006, Nebraska had ignored federal law that prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving in-state tuition benefits denied to out-of-state U.S. citizens.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said the unconstitutional laws "should never have been passed in the first place."
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"Nebraska’s unconstitutional and un-American laws should never have been passed in the first place and are prohibited by federal law," Shumate said. "The Department of Justice has won on this exact issue in Texas, Oklahoma and Kentucky, and we will take this fight to any states that fail to put American citizens first."
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen also celebrated the legal agreement.
"Nebraskans expect that illegal aliens won’t get the benefit of in-state tuition and financial aid, and federal law forbids it," Pillen said.
"Outdated Nebraska laws to the contrary are deeply misguided and unconstitutional, and I am grateful for the combined efforts of President Trump’s Department of Justice and Attorney General Hilgers to deliver this long-overdue correction."
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The Justice Department said this is the eighth lawsuit in a series of actions it has filed over state laws that it says benefit immigrants living in the country illegally over U.S. citizens. The department said it has already won similar cases in Texas, Kentucky and Oklahoma, while lawsuits remain pending in Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia and California.
Kristine Parks is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Read more.