Bondi reaches agreement with Kentucky on illegal immigrant tuition pol

A lawsuit brought by Attorney General Pam Bondi against Kentucky’s public education apparatus over in-state tuition for illegal immigrants resulted in an agreement to end the practice, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman told Fox News Digital in a Thursday interview.

Coleman said the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (KCPE) agreed to change state policy two months after the Justice Department first took the commonwealth to court over a provision in state law 13 KAR 2:045. 

The suit alleged Kentucky’s policy violated 18 USC 1623, which states that “notwithstanding any other provision of law, an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a state for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit … without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.”

The DOJ originally had named Kentucky Gov. Andrew Beshear as the defendant, but Beshear’s office previously told Fox New Digital that the KCPE is independent of the governor’s office.

KENTUCKY WANTED THIS FIGHT: FORMER AG BACKS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TUITION LAWSUIT AS VOTER-APPROVED

Coleman noted that governors do, however, have a role in appointing members to the council.

“Under current federal law, any illegal immigrant is barred from eligibility for postsecondary education benefits, like in-state tuition, unless the same benefits are offered to every U.S. citizen,” Coleman said.

Bondi noted in a statement obtained by Coleman’s office that “no state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens.”

In his interview, Coleman said that the decision is not quite official until the federal district judge signs the…