Judge blocks Illinois law giving in-state tuition to illegal aliens

A federal judge handed a loss to Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) and an immigration policy win to President Donald Trump on Friday after ruling that Illinois state laws providing in-state tuition and other public benefits to illegal immigrants are “unconstitutional and invalid.”
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Illinois and Pritzker in September 2025, arguing the state violated federal law by providing residency-based tuition and financial aid to illegal immigrants while not offering the same public benefits to all U.S. citizens who live outside Illinois. U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn’s ruling permanently prevents Illinois from enforcing the RISE Act, which provides illegal immigrants with state-funded financial aid, and the DREAM Act, which established scholarship opportunities for such students.
U.S. Attorney Steven Weinhoeft welcomed the ruling in a statement.
“Illinois sought to incentivize illegal immigration on the taxpayer’s dime by treating illegal aliens better than U.S. citizens living in other states, in clear violation of federal law,” the statement said. “This ruling enforces the statute Congress wrote and stops the State from putting illegal aliens ahead of American citizens.”
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