The United States has sued Pennsylvania State University over a policy that offers in-state tuition to some undocumented Pennsylvania residents while charging higher rates to United States citizens who live elsewhere.
The complaint, filed on 5 November in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, alleges that the policy conflicts with federal law limiting post-secondary education benefits based on state residence for people who are not lawfully present unless the same benefit is available to every US citizen. The government also frames the differential as unconstitutional unequal treatment.
The Justice Department asks the court to declare the policy unlawful, stop Penn State from enforcing it and bar the university from adopting a similar arrangement in the future. The pleading identifies the university as a public instrumentality of Pennsylvania and says the challenged rate is unavailable to otherwise comparable out-of-state citizens.
The lawsuit is at its opening stage. Its assertions have not been adjudicated, and no court has yet determined whether Penn State’s policy violates federal law or the Constitution. The Justice Department’s case page links to the filed complaint.
