Case Particulars

Tribunal

Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division

Date Filed

February 13, 2026

Docket No.

N/A

Case Status

Request Sent

Case Overview

On February 13, 2026, the Equal Protection Project (EPP) sent a request to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to investigate Colorado’s ASSET Law. This law provides in-state tuition to illegal immigrants in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1623(a).

EPP’s Request states:

Federal law, 8 U.S.C. § 1623(a), expressly prohibits states from providing “a postsecondary education benefit” to an alien who is not lawfully present “on the basis of residence within a State” unless the same benefit is also available to all U.S. citizens “without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.” The Department of Justice has relied on this specific provision—together with Supremacy Clause preemption principles—to challenge state laws and regulations that grant resident tuition, scholarships, and other subsidies to unlawfully present aliens while withholding the same benefits from out-of-state U.S. citizens.

Next, the Request further explains why the initiative challenged violates federal law:

Colorado’s ASSET law—Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow—was enacted through Senate Bill 13-033 and amended by House Bill 22-11554 to establish a statutory mechanism under which certain students who lack lawful immigration status may qualify for in-state tuition at Colorado public institutions of higher education..

 

ASSET operates as a residence-based substitute for lawful presence, permitting aliens who are not lawfully present in the United States to receive in-state tuition at Colorado public institutions while denying the same benefit to out-of-state U.S. citizens. That structure squarely implicates the limitation Congress imposed in 8 U.S.C. § 1623(a).

Finally, EPP requests DOJ to take action:

Congress drew a clear statutory line in 8 U.S.C. § 1623(a) that states may not provide postsecondary education benefits to aliens not lawfully present on the basis of in-state residence unless out-of-state U.S. citizens may receive the same benefits. Colorado’s ASSET law crosses that line by conferring in-state tuition and related taxpayer-funded postsecondary education benefits based on lenient Colorado residence criteria while similarly situated U.S. out-of-state citizens remain ineligible for such benefits. Federal law does not permit such discrimination against out-of-state U.S. citizens.

 

The Department of Justice has the authority to investigate and enforce compliance with § 1623(a). We therefore respectfully request that the Civil Rights Division open a formal investigation into Colorado’s ASSET law, determine the full scope of residence-based postsecondary education benefits provided under the program, and take appropriate enforcement action to ensure that Colorado complies with federal law.

DOJ is currently considering the request.