President Trump’s Justice Department just sued Maryland again.
This time, the fight is over a blue-state college benefit that DOJ says puts illegal aliens ahead of American citizens from other states.
The federal complaint targets Maryland laws and a regulation that provide in-state tuition and access to financial assistance regardless of lawful immigration status. The government says those benefits saved illegal-alien students nearly $9 million in a single academic year.
That is money Maryland taxpayers were forced to absorb while out-of-state Americans faced the full price.
Today, the Department of Justice sued Maryland, challenging its state law and regulation that provide in-state tuition and financial assistance for illegal aliens. This lawsuit is the 13th filed to challenge in-state tuition for illegal aliens.
“This Department of Justice is… pic.twitter.com/j2z68usThu
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) July 16, 2026
The U.S. Department of Justice says Maryland is violating federal law by giving reduced tuition, scholarships, and subsidies to illegal aliens without offering the same deal to every U.S. citizen.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward put the taxpayer cost at roughly $9 million for one academic year. He said the case is part of the administration’s promise to stop states from rewarding illegal immigration at Americans’ expense.
DOJ is asking a federal judge to block the challenged provisions. It says this is the thirteenth state-tuition lawsuit of its kind and points to favorable orders already entered in Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, with other cases still pending.
The department says the Maryland provisions cover both reduced tuition and financial assistance, making the alleged discrimination broader than a simple difference in the posted tuition rate.
The federal complaint names the State of Maryland, the Maryland Higher Education Commission, and the University System of Maryland Board of Regents as defendants.
The government argues that Maryland’s policy conflicts with 8 U.S.C. § 1623, which bars a state from giving an alien a postsecondary-education benefit based on state residence unless U.S. citizens can receive that same benefit regardless of where they live.
The numbers make the disparity impossible to miss. The complaint lists annual in-state tuition of $12,835 at the University of Maryland, College Park, compared with $44,086 for out-of-state students.
At Bowie State, the figures cited are $9,894 in-state and $21,047 out-of-state. At Coppin State, they are $7,524 and $14,726.
The newly filed complaint gives Maryland a chance to answer, and no judge has ruled on the merits. The state will now have to defend the policy in federal court.
Maryland Democrats just got hit with a federal lawsuit for doing what they do best: putting illegal immigrants ahead of American citizens. The DOJ is calling them out cold—the exact argument I made on the House floor: “Maryland’s eligibility laws have resulted in tangible… pic.twitter.com/jKvSFv3qst
— Matt Morgan (@MattMorgan29A) July 17, 2026
Maryland did not stumble into this policy by accident. The state adopted its tuition exemption in 2011, expanded it in 2019, and kept loosening the eligibility rules.
The official Maryland General Assembly record shows lawmakers passed another change in 2026. House Bill 1530 reduced the required Maryland tax-filing history from three years to two and made that lower threshold permanent.
The measure became Chapter 799 and took effect July 1. Just over two weeks later, the Trump administration took Maryland to court.
The complaint says the tuition benefit can also open the door to state financial aid and scholarships. That expands the dispute beyond a lower sticker price and into direct taxpayer-backed assistance.
The 2026 law did not create the exemption from scratch. It locked in a shorter tax-history rule inside a program Maryland had already expanded, leaving the federal government to challenge the entire residency-based benefit structure.
The DOJ is suing Maryland over allegations that the state university system is providing in-state tuition and financial assistance to undocumented students | READ THE LAWSUIT: https://t.co/prPORwm62k pic.twitter.com/ULKbQqEU10
— WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore (@wbaltv11) July 16, 2026
Maryland Democrats made the choice plain: illegal aliens can qualify for a taxpayer-supported break that an American family across the state line may not receive.
President Trump’s DOJ is now forcing that choice into the open.
The state can defend it under oath, on the law, and in front of a federal judge.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up. View the original article here.
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