Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker suffered a significant courtroom setback Friday when a federal judge struck down major portions of state laws that offered in-state tuition, financial aid and scholarships to immigrants living in the US illegally, delivering another legal win for the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown.
US District Judge Stephen McGlynn, a Trump-appointed judge in the Southern District of Illinois, ruled in favor of the Justice Department, finding that Illinois’ in-state tuition policies, along with the RISE Act and the Illinois DREAM Act, are “unconstitutional and invalid” when applied to illegal immigrants.
The ruling permanently bars Illinois from enforcing the challenged provisions, though McGlynn paused the order for 14 days, giving state officials time to seek relief from an appeals court.
US Attorney Steven Weinhoeft praised the decision after it was handed down.
“Illinois sought to incentivize illegal immigration on the taxpayer’s dime by treating illegal aliens better than US citizens living in other states, in clear violation of federal law,” Weinhoeft said in a statement. “This ruling enforces the statute Congress wrote and stops the State from putting illegal aliens ahead of American citizens.”
The decision adds to the Trump administration’s string of victories in its push to challenge state higher education benefits for illegal immigrants. It came just one day after the Justice Department brought a similar lawsuit against Colorado.
Federal prosecutors sued Illinois and several colleges in September 2025, contending that the state ran afoul of federal law by giving illegal immigrants access to in-state tuition and financial aid while denying those same benefits to all US citizens regardless of their state of residence.
McGlynn granted the federal government’s request for summary judgment and rejected Illinois’ bid to have the case dismissed.
The ruling invalidates Illinois’ in-state tuition rules, the RISE Act, which provides access to state financial aid for certain students ineligible for federal aid, and the Illinois DREAM Act, which established scholarship opportunities for eligible students.
Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill. praised the decision on X.
“This is a win for Illinois taxpayers and American students who were shut out while Pritzker prioritized foreigners in our country illegally,” Miller wrote.
The Justice Department has won or reached settlements in similar cases involving Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Nebraska, with Nebraska agreeing to end in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants as part of a settlement. Lawsuits remain pending against Minnesota, Virginia, California, New Jersey, Kansas, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland and Colorado.
In its lawsuit filed Thursday against Colorado, the Justice Department argued the state’s ASSET Act and related policies unlawfully provide lower tuition rates and state financial aid to illegal immigrants while denying those same benefits to out-of-state US citizens.
“For three decades, Congress has made clear that Colorado cannot give education benefits to illegal aliens that it does not give to all American citizens,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said. “By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, Colorado is not only violating federal law but subsidizing education for illegal aliens at taxpayers’ expense.
“Our litigation efforts will not cease until we have fulfilled President Trump’s promise that illegal aliens will not obtain preferential treatment over our nation’s own citizens.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ office defended the state’s policies.
“The federal government seizing control of determining in-state tuition across the country is absurd,” a Polis spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital. “In Colorado, we are expanding access to education to provide students with the skills to get good-paying jobs and doubling down on strategies to save students money.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker’s office for comment.
