{"blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Last week President Donald Trump’s Justice Department notched another win for American-born college students who for years have been treated as second-class citizens by our public universities."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"But according to my research, many of our most prestigious private colleges are still providing financial benefits and other perks to undocumented students — shortchanging Americans in the process."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"On Sept. 22, Kentucky agreed to a tentative settlement with the Justice Department that will end in-state tuition benefits for illegal-immigrant students."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The Bluegrass State’s policy — like those of many other states — allowed undocumented immigrants who graduate from a Kentucky high school to pay much lower in-state tuition rates at Kentucky’s state colleges."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"In June, Trump’s Justice Department took the state to court, arguing the policy violates federal law — by giving preferential treatment to non-citizens over out-of-state Americans who must pay three or more times the in-state rate."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Kentucky’s cave-in followed similar decisions in Texas and Oklahoma, in response to Trump administration lawsuits; a case against Minnesota is pending."}},{"id":"qt4rwxye-999kl0wq","type":"linkTool","data":{"link":"https://nypost.com/2025/03/08/us-news/aoc-former-staffer-diego-de-la-vega-self-deports-to-colombia/","meta":{"title":"Former illegal immigrant aide to AOC self-deports to Colombia amid questions about employment: report","description":"","image":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/newspress-collage-0b6v9xmcb-1741419807450.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1741401838&w=171&h=114&crop=1"}},"variant":"compact"}},{"id":"kc9qv9az-7sv4qued","type":"linkTool","data":{"link":"https://nypost.com/2024/08/21/us-news/15-states-sue-biden-harris-administration-for-enrolling-noncitizens-in-obamacare/","meta":{"title":"15 states sue Biden-Harris administration for enrolling noncitizens in Obamacare","description":"","image":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/88080026.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=171&h=114&crop=1"}},"variant":"compact"}},{"id":"yd18kk7i-i92qiok4","type":"linkTool","data":{"link":"https://nypost.com/2024/06/22/us-news/biden-admins-amended-rules-for-asylum-seekers-challenged-by-lawyers-for-migrant-children/","meta":{"title":"Biden admin’s amended rules for asylum seekers challenged by lawyers for migrant children","description":"","image":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/84281490.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=171&h=114&crop=1"}},"variant":"compact"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Trump is intent on putting an end to (at least some) discrimination against US citizens, 25 years after state-level DREAM Acts gave illegal-immigrant students a leg up."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Yet private colleges and universities have apparently not gotten the memo."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"In recent years, the dramatic increase in international students has effectively eroded the core and character of our greatest educational institutions."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The international student population has ballooned such that one out of every three students attending our universities today is a first- or second-generation immigrant, or an international student."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Over 19 million such students are now attending our universities, with more than half a million of them undocumented."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Our research at the Legal Insurrection Foundation’s Criticalrace.org revealed that international graduate students at our major universities have outpaced Americans — in many cases, to the detriment of American-born minorities."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"So we decided to dig deeper."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"We found that every one of America’s 10 highest-ranked universities offer support programs designed to provide extensive financial assistance and legal help to undocumented students."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"These are not small or insignificant institutions: Princeton, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, the California Institute of Technology, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern and the University of Pennsylvania all provide avenues by which undocumented immigrants can receive financial assistance."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"At Princeton, “admission and financial aid policies are the same for undocumented or DACA students as they are for all other students applying to the University,” its admissions office states."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“If admitted, undocumented students can be confident that their full financial need . . . will be met” — $80,000 on average this academic year."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Yale promises to provide “access to experts, lawyers and financial support” for undocumented immigrants — while boasting of its “strong commitment to a diverse community, equal opportunity, and accessibility to all candidates . . . regardless of citizenship.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"MIT will “meet 100% of demonstrated need to meet the full cost of attending, including tuition, housing, dining, books, and personal expenses” — students “just need to apply.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The average cost of attending MIT is $85,960 per year."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"And so the list continues."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"While the Ivies are bending over backward to accommodate the financial needs of undocumented students, public universities — until now — haven’t been much better."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Before the Trump lawsuit, an American-born student from Oklahoma wanting to attend Texas A&M would have been subject to out-of-state tuition rates, but an undocumented one present in Texas illegally would not."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The cost difference is substantial: The average in-state tuition for four-year schools in Texas last year was roughly $8,432 — but for out-of-staters, that rate climbed to $24,775."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Protecting equal access to education means protecting the rights of American students."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Our research reveals a clear pattern of our own great institutions making substantial accommodations for undocumented and foreign students, while providing no such help for Americans."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"For example, the Equal Protection Project has filed legal challenges against five publicly funded universities (so far — there are many more) that offer scholarship opportunities to illegal-immigrant students, but exclude American-born students from applying for them."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Our complaints have prompted the US Department of Education to open investigations into each of those cases."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"

"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"I sympathize with the unique situation of undocumented students who are illegally present in this country through no fault of their own."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"But discrimination against American-born students is not the solution."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":""}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"An over-emphasis on foreign student enrollment has played a large role in the rapid and concerning deterioration in the character of many American universities. Our research has shown as much."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Now our universities must address the unfair consequences that their solicitousness for “undocumented” students presents."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Kemberlee Kaye is managing director of the Legal Insurrection Foundation and managing editor of Criticalrace.org"}}]}

Kemberlee Kaye

NypKemberleeKaye@RoundtableIO

Top colleges give illegal-immigrant kids a boost — and put Americans second