OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a joint motion Tuesday with President Trump’s U.S. Department of Justice to put an end to a state law that unconstitutionally gives in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.
“Today marks the end of a longstanding exploitation of Oklahoma taxpayers, who for many years have subsidized colleges and universities as they provide unlawful benefits to illegal immigrants in the form of in-state tuition,” Drummond said. “Rewarding foreign nationals who are in our country illegally with lower tuition costs that are not made available to out-of-state American citizens is not only wrong—it is discriminatory and unlawful.”
President Trump issued an executive order in April notifying colleges and universities across the nation they could face punishment for allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition while charging U.S. citizens higher out-of-state rates.
“I am proud to stand with President Trump and support his efforts to secure our border, deport criminal illegal immigrants and ensure that benefits intended for American citizens are protected,” Drummond said.
In Tuesday’s filing, Drummond and the U.S. Department of Justice asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma to rule that the state statute allowing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants violates the Supremacy Clause and is therefore invalid.
Read the complaint and the joint motion.
