DENVER — The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Colorado, arguing that the state’s laws granting in-state tuition and certain financial aid benefits to undocumented students violate the Constitution.
The complaint was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Denver.
President Donald Trump’s DOJ claims in the suit that federal law prohibits states from giving postsecondary education benefits to people “not lawfully present” based on state residency unless the same benefits are available to all U.S. citizens regardless of where they live.
“An alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible based on residence within a State (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident,” reads the federal statuette that the DOJ is citing in the complaint.
The lawsuit is specifically targeting Colorado’s 2013 voter-approved ASSET Act and related statutes.
The act allows undocumented students who attended Colorado high schools or lived in the state long enough to qualify for resident tuition to be eligible for in-state tuition and state aid, such as the Colorado Application for State Financial Aid.
The DOJ repeatedly argues these benefits are tied to Colorado residency and therefore conflict with federal law.
“These statutes constitute blatant unequal treatment favoring illegal aliens over U.S. citizens. Worse, such preferential treatment is squarely prohibited and preempted by Congress,” reads the complaint.
The DOJ’s claims are some of the same arguments opponents of the bill touched on in 2013: that taxpayer-subsidized tuition for those in the country unlawfully undermines federal immigration laws.
Supporters argued that the state’s economy benefits when undocumented workers are allowed the same educational opportunities.
The complaint also references two Trump executive orders from 2025 directing federal agencies to prevent taxpayer-funded benefits from going to undocumented immigrants and to challenge state policies favoring undocumented immigrants over U.S. citizens.
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office said it had no comment when Denver7 reached out.
However, Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper sent Denver7 a statement, condemning the lawsuit.
"Instead of actually working to fix our broken immigration system, the Trump administration is trying to reignite yesterday’s culture wars," Hickenlooper said in a statement. "These young people, many of whom have never had a home other than Colorado, want an education so they can build their lives."
It's unclear how many Colorado students this lawsuit could impact.
