The Justice Department filed lawsuits Monday against Massachusetts and Rhode Island challenging state laws that provide in-state tuition rates and financial assistance to illegal aliens.

The department alleges the laws violate federal law by providing benefits to illegal aliens that are not available to all U.S. citizens and by discriminating against citizens who live outside those states.

"The Department of Justice is committed to fulfilling President [Donald] Trump's promise that illegal aliens will not receive taxpayer benefits or preferential treatment over America's own citizens," Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement.

"As our Nation marks 250 years of freedom, we will continue to challenge state laws that place aliens over citizens in clear defiance of Congress's commands."

"This is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens," Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department's Civil Division said in a statement.

"This Department of Justice will not tolerate American students being treated like second-class citizens in their own country."

The federal government is seeking court orders blocking enforcement of laws in Massachusetts and Rhode Island that require colleges and universities to provide in-state tuition rates to all illegal aliens who maintain in-state residency.

The lawsuits also seek to block state laws providing financial assistance and scholarship support to illegals.

The Justice Department said Monday's filings mark the third set of lawsuits filed within the past week challenging in-state tuition laws for illegal aliens, bringing the total number of similar cases to 12.

The department has already secured permanent court orders in Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Nebraska declaring comparable laws unconstitutional and barring their enforcement.

The Education Department last July revoked a rule that allowed illegal aliens to access taxpayer funds for technical and career schools.

"Postsecondary education programs funded by the federal government should benefit American citizens, not illegal aliens," Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement.

"Under President Trump's leadership, hardworking American taxpayers will no longer foot the bill for illegal aliens to participate in our career, technical, or adult education programs or activities," she added.

"The Department will ensure that taxpayer funds are reserved for citizens and individuals who have entered our country through legal means who meet federal eligibility criteria."

A Trump executive order ended taxpayer subsidies for illegal aliens.