A growing number of illegal immigrants are attending US colleges, with 408,000 currently enrolled in higher education. Many of these students benefit from in-state tuition and financial aid, a practice that critics say violates federal law and burdens American taxpayers.
In total, 25 states have policies allowing illegal immigrants to pay lower in-state tuition rates, even when US citizens from other states must pay full out-of-state tuition. Additionally, 20 states provide government financial aid to illegal immigrants, further widening the cost disparity between citizens and noncitizens.
Most illegal immigrant students reside in a handful of states, with California leading at 87,000 enrollees, followed by Texas, Florida, and New York. The percentage of illegal immigrant students who are DACA recipients has declined due to legal restrictions on the program, but the overall undocumented student population remains steady.
Some states have resisted these policies. Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina have outright banned illegal immigrants from enrolling in public colleges, while Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Tennessee, North Carolina, and New Hampshire prohibit access to state financial aid or in-state tuition benefits.
Efforts to challenge tuition policies favoring illegal immigrants have faced obstacles in court. Federal law, specifically 8 U.S.C. § 1623, prohibits giving in-state tuition to illegal immigrants unless the same benefit is extended to all US citizens. However, courts have repeatedly ruled that parents of affected students lack standing to enforce this statute.
With higher education institutions profiting from taxpayer-funded tuition programs, illegal immigrants continue to receive benefits at the expense of American students who are forced to pay full price.
