Hawai‘i is being sued by the federal government over its illegal immigration policies.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint against Hawai‘i Thursday over a state administrative rule that the department alleges undermines federal law by providing unfair support for undocumented immigrants that isn’t available for U.S. citizens.
The specific rule is Administrative Rule 20-4-8(g), which is part of the rules governing the University of Hawai‘i and the terms for which in-state tuition can be established. For most prospective students, students must prove they have been a resident of Hawai‘i for at least the 12 consecutive months before applying for in-state tuition.
However, the rule in question states in full: “An alien may establish residence to the extent permitted by the Immigration and Nationality Act. The date of approval of such status shall be the earliest date upon which the twelve-month residency requirement may begin to accrue.”
In turn, the Immigration and Nationality Act includes several provisions concerning illegal immigrants and their resident status. But, the DOJ lawsuit states, the Act does not in any way bar an illegal immigrant from establishing their residency within the U.S. or within a specific state.
In this way, the DOJ argues, the administrative rule allows illegal immigrants to be eligible for in-state tuition while denying non-resident citizens the same benefits.
Because Congress has prohibited states from providing these sorts of education benefits to illegal aliens without making them available to all U.S. citizens, the suit states that Hawai‘i’s rule is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which prohibits state laws from superseding federal laws.
“This is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” Brett Shumate, Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Civil Division said Thursday. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country.”
The suit concludes with a request for the U.S. District Court for Hawai‘i declare the rule unconstitutional and issue a permanent injunction against the rule being enforced. The request also asks the court to prohibit the state from offering in-state tuition to illegal aliens by any other means.
The suit against Hawai‘i was one of four the DOJ filed on Thursday, alongside similar complaints filed against Arkansas, Utah and Washington D.C. The DOJ has filed suits against 24 states in total, along with D.C., over state laws providing in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.
Some of those suits have already ended in the DOJ’s favor: a U.S. District Court judge in Kansas issued an injunction Wednesday against that state’s law allowing for in-state tuition to certain immigrant students.
Most of the other suits — including complaints filed against New York, Minnesota, Washington and elsewhere — are still pending.
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
