Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced a pair of bills Tuesday to strengthen immigration security and to ensure that only American citizens are eligible for in-state college tuition, telling Breitbart News that his legislation is aimed at “closing loopholes that are frequently exploited” by illegal migrants.
The Put American Students First Act points to 22 states and Washington, DC for violating Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which prohibits in-state tuition rates being granted to students who are not lawful residents of the state, unless the same rates are offered to all citizens of the United States regardless of residence.
“Despite this prohibition, as of 2025, 22 States and the District of Columbia continue to provide in-State rates for tuition and fees to such aliens through policies that circumvent Federal law, subsidizing their postsecondary education at a cost to taxpayers of the United States estimated at more than $1,000,000,000 annually,” the bill’s text states.
Any state that violates this provision could be subject to funds being withheld from the Department of Education.
If passed, the legislation would apply to academic years beginning on or after July 1, 2026.
“Providing such subsidies creates a perverse incentive for illegal immigration, rewarding unlawful presence with benefits unavailable to citizens and legal residents of the United States who do not live within such State, and undermines the rule of law,” Cotton wrote in the bill.
In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News, the senator added, “Arkansas taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing noncitizens’ college tuition. My bill will put our students first by ensuring that only Americans are eligible for in-state tuition.”
The Asylum Reform & Loophole Closure Act would tighten standards for noncitizen asylum seekers, including making illegal migrants permanently ineligible for asylum and enforcing the one-year deadline to file for it.
The bill, also introduced Tuesday, includes a provision making sure that asylum-seeking aliens who arrived in the U.S. after transiting through one or more countries had properly applied for and been denied protection in those countries. If they have not been officially denied asylum while traveling through other countries en route to the U.S., they would be ineligible to obtain American asylum status.
Any alien who commits illegal entry or visa fraud to get into the U.S. would become permanently ineligible for asylum, the proposed legislation states. Zero exceptions would be made for those who fail to file before the one-year deadline.
“Too often asylum seekers are abusing our process by staying here indefinitely draining Arkansas taxpayers’ dollars. My bill will enforce stricter standards by closing loopholes that are frequently exploited,” Cotton told Breitbart News.
The senator has been steadily working to crack down on illegal immigration with legislative fixes, having introduced another bill earlier in December to end federal benefits including Medicaid, housing assistance, student financial aid, and food stamps for noncitizens.
Cotton wrote in an authorization to denaturalize naturalized citizens who “undermine domestic tranquility” by participating in unlawful protests involving violence or property destruction, and to “expand expedited removal authority.”
The bill also addresses concerns regarding Afghan nationals living in the U.S. after it was determined that the suspected shooter who attacked two members of the National Guard in D.C. just before Thanksgiving came from Afghanistan under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program.
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
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