By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Virginia officials are weighing in after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit this week challenging the commonwealth’s in-state tuition law.
As previously reported by The Center Square, the Justice Department sued Virginia in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, arguing that law improperly allows some students to qualify for in-state tuition and certain forms of state financial aid regardless of immigration status, in conflict with federal law.
Attorney General Jason Miyares said the Northam-era statute governing in-state tuition eligibility is preempted by federal law and argued that illegal immigrants cannot be given benefits that are not available to American citizens.
Miyares said offering in-state tuition to noncitizens “only further incentivizes illegal immigration,” adding that he has “always said I will call balls and strikes” and is “proud to play a part in ending this unlawful program.”
“Thank you Attorney General Miyares, Attorney General Bondi and President Trump for bringing an end to a policy signed into law by former Governor Northam that allowed illegal immigrants to receive a benefit that was denied to U.S. citizens in clear violation of federal law,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a social media post.
Attorney General-elect Jay Jones criticized the lawsuit and the Miyares administration’s decision to enter a consent decree, calling it an attack on students and a deliberate effort to prevent a new administration from responding.
“The Trump administration’s lawsuit is an attack on our students and a deliberate attempt to beat the clock to prevent a new administration from defending them,” Jones said in a statement. “This is the exact kind of federal overreach Virginians rejected in November, and it’s what I remain committed to fighting as the next Attorney General. My team is reviewing all legal options available to the Commonwealth.”
Advocacy groups have also moved to intervene following the Miyares administration’s decision to enter into a consent agreement with the federal government. The Legal Aid Justice Center, the ACLU of Virginia and the Dream Project filed an emergency motion seeking to intervene, arguing that the commonwealth should continue defending the law and warning that students could lose in-state tuition eligibility midyear if the court approves the agreement.
“The Attorney General of Virginia has abandoned his duties to defend Virginia law and the people of the Commonwealth,” said Sophia Gregg, senior immigrants’ rights attorney with the ACLU of Virginia in a statement.