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Illegal immigrants will no longer get in-state tuition in Kentucky after federal ruling
By Charles Creitz
Published April 02, 2026
Illegal immigrants will no longer receive in-state tuition at Kentucky’s public colleges after a federal judge ruled the policy violated U.S. law and permanently blocked its enforcement.
The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, hands a win to the Trump administration and Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman after they challenged the policy as giving benefits to those in the country illegally that federal law does not allow.
The decision forces Kentucky’s higher education system to end the discounted rates after a months-long legal fight.
The lawsuit argued the policy violated federal law, which states that, "an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a state for any post-secondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit … without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident."
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Protesters demonstrate against illegal immigrants being deported. (Allen Schaben/Getty Images)
On Wednesday, Coleman celebrated the ruling by Tatenhove, who wrote that the Kentucky education regulation violated the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and "permanently enjoins the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education… from enforcing [it]."
"Federal law is clear: illegal immigrants don’t get preferential treatment at Kentucky’s public universities, and Kentucky taxpayers certainly shouldn’t be footing the bill. As Kentucky’s chief law officer, I was proud to join the Trump Administration to make sure our Commonwealth is upholding federal law and fundamental fairness for American citizens," Coleman exclusively told Fox News Digital.
"We’ll continue focusing on helping Kentucky students reach for their full potential."
In August, Bondi’s lawsuit led Kentucky officials to forge a consent decree, or legal agreement, instead of fighting to defend the policy.
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The DOJ originally named Kentucky Gov. Andrew Beshear as the defendant, but Beshear’s office previously told Fox News Digital that Kentucky’s KCPE education agency is independent of his office.
While Coleman and others celebrated that development as potentially ending the policy, a court found the judiciary still needed to act on the constitutionality of the law, according to the first page of Van Tatenhove’s ruling.
"Here, despite the [education] council’s agreement with the United States that its regulation is preempted, it continues to enforce the regulation. As such, a justiciable controversy remains present," Van Tatenhove wrote.
In his 22-page decision, Van Tatenhove wrote that his ruling was "precipitat[ed]" in part by a February 2025 executive order "ending taxpayer subsidization of open borders."
Kentucky AG Russell Coleman is shown. (Marcus Dorsey/Getty Images)
After the consent decree was forged in late August, a student advocacy group attempted to intervene, and the court allowed it but rejected its arguments in favor of the policy.
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The ruling also said that states do have the right to extend certain benefits to illegal immigrants but must do so through law and not agency-based regulations.
Fox News Digital reached out to Beshear for comment.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/illegal-immigrants-no-longer-get-in-state-tuition-kentucky-after-federal-ruling