United States Attorney Pam Bondi announced the filing of a civil complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois challenging state laws that provide in-state tuition and scholarships for illegal aliens on Tuesday. The complaint alleges the laws unconstitutionally discriminate against U.S. citizens, who are not afforded the same reduced tuition rates or scholarships, in direct conflict with federal law.
The civil complaint, filed on Tuesday by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) against the State of Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker, the State Attorney General, and the boards of trustees of state universities in Illinois, seeks to enjoin the State of Illinois from enforcing the laws and bring them into compliance with federal requirements.
The complaint, filed on behalf of the United States, seeks an end to specific benefits provided under Illinois State law that require colleges and universities to offer in-state tuition rates for all aliens who maintain Illinois residency, regardless of whether those aliens are lawfully present in the United States. The DOJ asserts the laws conflict with federal laws that prohibit institutions of higher education from providing benefits to aliens that are not offered to U.S. citizens.
In an announcement issued by the Bondi-led DOJ, agency officials say the Illinois laws blatantly conflict with federal law and are thus in conflict with the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
In the statement issued by the DOJ, Attorney General Pam Bondi described the discrimination against United States Citizens that are not offered the same benefits under the Illinois laws, saying, “Under federal law, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens. This Department of Justice has already filed multiple lawsuits to prevent U.S. students from being treated like second-class citizens — Illinois now joins the list of states where we are relentlessly fighting to vindicate federal law.”
The complaint aligns with the intent of two executive orders signed by President Trump that seek to ensure illegal aliens are not obtaining taxpayer benefits or preferential treatment. An executive order signed in February 2025 titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” orders all agencies to “ensure, to the maximum extent permitted by law, that no taxpayer-funded benefits go to unqualified aliens.
The second executive order signed in April, titled “Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens”, directs relevant officials to “take appropriate action to stop the enforcement of State and local laws, regulations, policies, and practices favoring aliens over any groups of American citizens that are unlawful, preempted by Federal law, or otherwise unenforceable, including State laws that provide in-State higher education tuition to aliens but not to out-of-State American citizens.”
The filing of the complaint is just the latest skirmish between the State of Illinois’ leadership and the Trump administration. As reported by Breitbart News, on Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) criticized efforts by the Trump administration to reduce crime in major cities by deploying federal law enforcement and military resources, likening the deployments to an “invasion with U.S. troops.”
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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