Judge Dismisses DOJ Challenge Over Minnesota Tuition for Undocumented Students
A federal judge has dismissed the Justice Department’s case against Minnesota over in-state tuition and scholarships for some students without legal status, keeping the policy in place for now. The ruling matters immediately because it preserves access to lower public-college costs as the federal government presses similar fights in other states.
The conflict centered on whether Minnesota was unlawfully favoring undocumented students over some U.S. citizens. The DOJ argued in its 2025 lawsuit that the state was violating federal law by extending reduced tuition, and in some cases free tuition, to students living in the country illegally.
Judge Katherine Menendez rejected that reading on March 27. According to the order and AP’s account, she found Minnesota’s system does not grant benefits purely on the basis of residence because eligibility turns on factors such as attending a Minnesota high school for at least three years and graduating there.
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The judge also undercut part of the government’s case on procedure. AP reported she said the DOJ lacked standing to sue Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison because neither official can independently change the tuition statutes at issue.
“Today, we defeated another one of Donald Trump’s efforts to misconstrue federal law,” Ellison said in a statement reported by AP.
In Minnesota, the decision protects a policy framework that has been in place since the 2013 Dream Act and ties benefits to high-school attendance and graduation requirements. It also signals that at least one federal court is reading the governing statute more narrowly than the DOJ urged.
What happens next is less clear. AP reported the DOJ had not commented after the ruling, but the case arrives as the department also targets similar tuition policies in Texas and Kentucky, making further appeals or new legal tests possible.
For now, Minnesota’s tuition benefits remain in effect.
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