Kansas sued over in-state tuition law for undocumented students

State Watch Kansas sued over in-state tuition law for undocumented students Comments: by Taylor Delandro - 06/26/26 9:48 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Taylor Delandro - 06/26/26 9:48 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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(NewsNation) — The Justice Department (DOJ) has is suing Kanas, requesting that a federal judge revoke the state law that allows students without legal immigration status to qualify for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) joined the DOJ in requesting an order blocking enforcement of the 2024 law. The policy allows students to pay in-state tuition if they attended a high school in the Sunflower State for at least three of the previous four years, graduated from an accredited high school in the state or earned an equivalent credential, and were accepted to a state college or university.

In court filings, the DOJ argues the law discriminates against U.S. citizens by allowing some noncitizens to receive tuition benefits that are unavailable to out-of-state American students. The agency also contends the policy incentivizes illegal immigration.

Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate called the law “unconstitutional and un-American,” and “should never have been passed in the first place.”

“The Department of Justice has won on this exact issue in Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Nebraska, and we will take this fight to any states that fail to put American citizens first,” he added.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) filed a motion to intervene in the case, arguing Kobach refused to defend a state law that has governed in-state tuition eligibility for more than two decades.

“There are many ways that we could, and should, work together to fix this country’s broken immigration system,” Kelly stated. “However, the federal government using its resources to target Kansans who were brought to the United States as children does nothing to solve the fundamental issues our nation faces.”

The lawsuit comes months after the governor vetoed SB 254, a bill sponsored by Republican state Sen. Mike Thompson that sought to repeal the tuition policy.

Thompson said Kelly’s office was warned the state could face legal challenges over the law.

When vetoing the bill in April, the governor called the legislation “cruel” and said it was “not in the best interest of the state.”

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