DOJ sues University of Delaware over in-state tuition for undocumented students

Right · 2The Justice Department sued the University of Delaware and its board of trustees on 1 October over a tuition policy that lets qualifying students who are in the country illegally pay the Delaware resident rate. 1 2 Right · 1According to the DOJ, the university charges Delaware residents about $15,740 per academic year and non-residents about $42,470, a gap of $26,730, with non-resident tuition roughly 2.7 times the resident rate. 2 Right · 1The DOJ argues the policy conflicts with 8 U.S.C. §1623(a), which bars residency-based postsecondary benefits for people not lawfully present unless U.S. citizens can get the same benefit regardless of where they live. 2

Right · 2It also says the policy is independently unlawful under 8 U.S.C. §1621 because it was set by university policy rather than an enacted state law, and it describes the policy as "preempted twice over" and "blatant unequal treatment." 2 1 Right · 2Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said the department's efforts "will not cease until we have challenged every state law or university policy that gives preferential treatment to illegal aliens," and Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate called it "a simple matter of federal law." 2 1 Right · 1The University of Delaware said it is reviewing the complaint carefully and, because the matter is pending, would not comment further. 2

Right · 1An opinion writer in the Washington Examiner lists the eligibility rules as three years at a Delaware high school, a diploma or GED, living with a parent or guardian, enrolling within 18 months, and evidence of seeking citizenship or permanent residency; he says Delaware taxpayers appropriated $145 million to the university in fiscal 2025. 1 Right · 1The same piece says this is the DOJ's 26th such case, that Texas ended its program in June 2025 after a DOJ suit and the 5th Circuit declined in July to revive it in a 2-1 ruling, and that a federal judge in Illinois blocked that state's tuition and aid laws. 1 Right · 1It notes that U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez dismissed the DOJ's challenge to Minnesota's law in March because any Minnesota high school graduate qualifies, and that Delaware is in the 3rd Circuit, so the 5th Circuit ruling does not bind the court. 1