Undocumented graduates of Davis County high schools could lose access to affordable college tuition after the U.S. Department of Justice sued Utah on Friday, Sept. 11.

The federal lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Utah, challenges a 2002 state law that lets undocumented students who attended and graduated from a Utah high school pay in-state tuition rates at public universities. The suit names the state, the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) and its commissioner, Geoffrey Landward, as defendants, ABC4 reported.

In-state tuition and fees at the University of Utah run $10,480 this academic year. Non-resident tuition is $32,932, according to Utah News Dispatch.

To qualify for the waiver, a student must have attended a Utah high school for at least three years and graduated from one. The student must also file an affidavit stating they have applied or will apply to legalize their immigration status. Students at Bountiful High, Viewmont High, Woods Cross High and Farmington High who meet those requirements would be among those affected if the law is struck down.

The DOJ argues the law discriminates against U.S. citizens from other states who do not qualify for in-state rates. Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said in the department's announcement: "This is a simple matter of federal law: colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens."

The lawsuit follows a 2025 executive order directing the DOJ to take action against states with tuition policies for undocumented immigrants. Utah is one of four states sued Sept. 11, along with Hawaii, Arkansas and the District of Columbia, bringing the DOJ's total to 25 such lawsuits nationwide.

Similar suits have already ended in-state tuition for undocumented students in Kentucky, Illinois, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas, according to Inside Higher Ed. A federal judge in Minnesota dismissed the DOJ's case there, ruling the tuition policies did not violate federal law.

Utah's Republican-controlled legislature passed the tuition law in 2002. During the 2026 session, HB386, which would have ended the benefit, passed the House 39-33 but stalled in the Senate when no senator would sponsor it, the Deseret News reported.

House Speaker Mike Schultz said he looks forward to "making the necessary changes during the 2027 General Session." Senate President Stuart Adams said the Senate is still reviewing the lawsuit. Adams said the chamber "is committed to protecting Utah taxpayers, respecting those who follow the legal immigration process."

Thomas A. Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), called the suits "unprecedented and unwarranted" in a Sept. 11 statement. Saenz said advocacy groups are likely to petition the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming months.

Attorney General Derek E Brown declined through a spokesperson to comment on the pending litigation. The USHE said in a statement that it defers to the legislature's authority to set tuition policy and will continue administering the law as directed.

Undocumented students remain ineligible for federal financial aid regardless of the lawsuit's outcome. No hearing date has been set in the Utah case.