DOJ scores win after Nebraska ceases in-state tuition for illegal immigrants

Published June 4, 2026 7:40pm ET



The Justice Department secured another victory in its campaign against state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants on Wednesday after a federal judge struck down a Nebraska law that allowed certain students in the country illegally to qualify for in-state tuition rates for nearly two decades.

U.S. District Judge Brian Buescher, an appointee of President Donald Trump, ruled that Nebraska’s 2006 law conflicts with federal immigration law and permanently barred the state from enforcing it. The decision came after the DOJ sued Nebraska in April, arguing the state’s tuition and scholarship policies unlawfully granted benefits to illegal immigrants that were unavailable to some U.S. citizens.

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