Federal Courts and Preemption

U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove has permanently barred Kentucky’s public colleges from giving in‑state tuition rates to students who are in the country illegally, ruling that a Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education regulation conflicts with federal immigration‑benefits law and is preempted under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. The Trump Justice Department and Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman had sued, arguing the policy unlawfully granted a residency‑based ‘post‑secondary education benefit’ to non‑lawfully present immigrants that federal statute forbids unless the same benefit is available to U.S. citizens regardless of residency. Van Tatenhove noted that although the council agreed in a consent decree that its rule was preempted, it kept enforcing the discounted‑tuition policy, leaving a live controversy that required a court order to resolve. His 22‑page decision, which references a February 2025 executive order ‘ending taxpayer subsidization of open borders,’ enjoins the council from enforcing the regulation and stresses that while states may extend some benefits to undocumented immigrants, they must do so through legislation, not agency rulemaking, when federal constraints apply. The ruling immediately forces Kentucky’s higher‑education system to end the in‑state rate for undocumented students and will likely be cited in national fights over how far states and public institutions can go in offering tuition breaks and financial aid to people without legal status.