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The US Department of Justice has sued Colorado for providing in-state tuition and financial aid to illegal immigrants attending public colleges and universities, the latest legal challenge to what critics say amounts to discrimination against US citizens.
The suit, filed Thursday in Colorado federal court, names the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the Department of Higher Education, and its director, JB Holston, as defendants.
“For three decades, Congress has made it clear that Colorado cannot provide educational benefits to illegal aliens that it does not provide to all American citizens,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “By providing in-state education to illegal aliens, Colorado is not only violating state law but subsidizing the education of illegal aliens at taxpayer expense.”
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The University of Colorado Denver at the Auraria Campus in Denver, Colo., on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (The Denver Post via Getty Images)
“Our efforts to sue each other will not end until we defeat the President [Donald] Trump’s promise that illegal aliens will not receive special treatment over citizens of our nation,” Woodward added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to both agencies charged in the lawsuit for comment, as well as the office of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.
The complaint alleges that the Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) Act and related state policies violate federal law that prohibits states from granting higher education benefits to illegal immigrants based on their residency, unless the same benefits are available to all US citizens.
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In an effort to increase access to those benefits, Colorado reduced the requirement to attend high school from three years to one year, and removed the requirement that students be accepted to college within 12 months of graduating from high school, according to the state’s petition.
The state also waived the requirement that illegal immigrant students submit an affidavit stating that they have applied for legal attendance or will apply as soon as they become eligible, the complaint said.
By providing low tuition rates and state-sponsored scholarships to local illegal immigrants while denying them to out-of-state residents, Colorado has been accused of creating unconstitutional preferences controlled by federal authorities.
The Justice Department also says that low tuition encourages illegal immigration and rewards them for breaking the country’s laws.
University of Colorado students pass under the University Hill bridge between classes on Friday. On Thursday the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Colorado for providing illegal immigrants with school and financial aid. (MediaNews Group via Getty Images)
The Thursday 14th case was instituted by the Trump administration challenging the education of illegal immigrants.
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“This Justice Department is committed to fulfilling President Trump’s promise that illegal aliens will not receive taxpayer benefits or preferential treatment over our citizens,” the Justice Department said.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare several Colorado state laws related to the issue unconstitutional, along with court costs.
