Feds sue Kentucky, Gov. Beshear over tuition rates for undocumented immigrants
The federal government sued Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration Tuesday, claiming the state’s higher education tuition policy gives preferential treatment to undocumented immigrants over U.S. citizens.
The lawsuit, which names Beshear, education commissioner Robbie Fletcher and the Kentucky Council for Post-Secondary Education, claims Kentucky’s practice of offering undocumented immigrants in Kentucky a lower cost of tuition — known as in-state tuition — than it offers out-of-state U.S. residents is illegal.
“Federal law prohibits aliens not lawfully present in the United States from getting in-state tuition benefits that are denied to out-of-state U.S. citizens,” the lawsuit reads. “There are no exceptions. ... This unequal treatment of Americans is squarely prohibited and preempted by federal law.
In-state tuition rates are an initiative aimed at keeping local kids in their home state by offering them cheaper tuition rates for in-state public schools.
Crystal Staley, spokesperson for Beshear’s office, said the governor has not been served with the lawsuit and had no prior discussion with the Department of Justice.
Under Kentucky law, the Kentucky Council for Post-Secondary Education is independent, Staley said, and has sole authority to determine student residency requirements for in-state tuition and controls its own regulations.
“The governor has no authority to alter CPE’s regulations and should not be a party to the lawsuit,” Staley said in an emailed statement to the Herald-Leader.
Rep. TJ Roberts, R-Burlington, commended the justice department and Trump for standing up to “Beshear’s unconstitutional discrimination of U.S. citizens.”
“Unfortunately, the governor has chosen to ignore those opportunities and instead continues to defy the Constitution, manipulate the regulatory process to advance his own agenda, and misuse the powers of his office to elevate his national political ambitions,” Roberts said in a statement. “It’s a shameful disservice to the people of Kentucky.”
This past legislative session, Roberts introduced House Bill 352, which aimed to disallow undocumented immigrants from enrolling in state colleges.
The bill never received a hearing.
Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman also lauded the government’s lawsuit.
“We have serious concerns that the Council on Postsecondary Education’s policy violates federal law,” Coleman said in an emailed press release. “Preserving in-state tuition for our citizens at the Commonwealth’s premier public universities is important to fostering Kentuckians’ potential and encouraging a vibrant state economy.”
This lawsuit is the latest immigration-related crackdown from the federal government, which has targeted undocumented immigrants with widespread deportation raids and arrests.
In March alone, ICE detained more than 80 people in Kentucky accused of being in the U.S. illegally. One of the detainees was 18-year-old Ernesto Manuel Andres, who recently graduated high school in Bowling Green.
Andres had documentation that showed he could be in the U.S. legally until 2029, but he has remained in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for two weeks without a hearing.
In the suit filed Tuesday, federal officials claim Kentucky’s rules for tuition rates conflict with federal law.
“No state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
A similar lawsuit against the state of Texas successfully ended the practice of offering in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrants earlier this month. The lawsuit against Texas did not include the state’s Republican governor as a party.
The federal government cites two executive orders filed by President Donald Trump to prevent enforcement of local laws and regulations that would “favor (undocumented immigrants) over any groups of American citizens.”
On such order is the “Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens” Act, signed on April 28.
The executive order states the former Biden Administration “allowed unchecked millions of aliens to illegally enter the United States,” resulting in public safety and national security risks through international cartels and organizations along the southern border.
This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 12:28 PM.
