[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3507 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3507
To prevent any alien who is not lawfully admitted for permanent
residence from obtaining in-State tuition rates at public institutions
of higher education, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 16, 2025
Mr. Cotton introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prevent any alien who is not lawfully admitted for permanent
residence from obtaining in-State tuition rates at public institutions
of higher education, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Put American Students First Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623) already
prohibits States from granting in-State rates for tuition and
fees to aliens who are not lawfully present in the United
States on the basis of residence within the State, unless the
same rates are offered to all citizens of the United States
regardless of residence.
(2) Despite this prohibition, as of 2025, 22 States and the
District of Columbia continue to provide in-State rates for
tuition and fees to such aliens through policies that
circumvent Federal law, subsidizing their postsecondary
education at a cost to taxpayers of the United States estimated
at more than $1,000,000,000 annually.
(3) Providing such subsidies creates a perverse incentive
for illegal immigration, rewarding unlawful presence with
benefits unavailable to citizens and legal residents of the
United States who do not live within such State, and undermines
the rule of law.
(4) Students of the United States in higher education,
including students from modest-income families in neighboring
States, are effectively penalized by States that provide such
subsidies because the students pay higher out-of-State rates
for tuition and fees while aliens not lawfully admitted for
permanent residence receive taxpayer-subsidized discounts.
(5) Enforcing this Federal prohibition nationwide is
essential to restoring fairness, deterring illegal immigration,
and prioritizing postsecondary education benefits for citizens
and lawful permanent residents of the United States.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON IN-STATE TUITION RATES FOR ALIENS NOT LAWFULLY
ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE.
(a) In General.--Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623) is amended to read
as follows:
``SEC. 505. INELIGIBILITY FOR IN-STATE TUITION AND FEES FOR ALIENS NOT
LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) In-state tuition rate.--The term `in-State tuition
rate' means the rate of tuition and fees for attendance at a
public institution of higher education of a State or political
subdivision of a State that is charged for a resident of the
State.
``(2) Lawfully admitted for permanent residence.--The term
`lawfully admitted for permanent residence' has the meaning
given such term in section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20)).
``(3) Out-of-state tuition rate.--The term `out-of-State
tuition rate' mans the rate of tuition and fees for attendance
at a public institution of higher education of a State or
political subdivision of a State that is charged for a non-
resident of the State.
``(4) Postsecondary education benefit.--The term
`postsecondary education benefit' means any tuition reduction,
fee waiver, scholarship, grant, or other financial assistance
provided by a State or political subdivision of a State for
attendance at a public institution of higher education,
including an in-State resident tuition rate.
``(5) State.--The term `State' means the several States of
the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam,
the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands.
``(b) Ineligibility.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law--
``(1) an alien who is not lawfully admitted for permanent
residence shall not be eligible for any postsecondary education
benefit, including an in-State tuition rate, offered by a State
or political subdivision of a State; and
``(2) a State shall ensure that each public institution of
higher education of the State or a political subdivision of a
State charges an alien who is not lawfully admitted for
permanent residence the out-of-State tuition rate.
``(c) Verification of Immigration Status.--
``(1) In general.--Beginning on the date of enactment of
the Put American Students First Act, each public institution of
higher education shall verify the immigration status of each
student enrolled in the institution through the Systematic
Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program operated by
the Department of Homeland Security, or a successor program,
prior to granting any postsecondary education benefit to the
student.
``(2) Frequency.--The verification required under paragraph
(1) shall be conducted annually for each enrolled student
receiving a postsecondary education benefit.
``(3) Reimbursement.--Any public institution of higher
education that has provided an in-State tuition rate or fee to
an alien in violation of this section--
``(A) shall seek reimbursement from such alien for
the difference between the in-State tuition rate and
the out-of-State tuition rate for each term of
enrollment, plus interest at the rate applicable to a
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under section
455(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1085(b)) for such term of enrollment; and
``(B) if reimbursement as described in subparagraph
(A) is not made within 90 days of the request, shall
not allow the alien to enroll for any future terms in
the institution until the reimbursement is completed.
``(d) Applicability.--This section applies to--
``(1) any alien who enrolls in a public institution of
higher education on or after the date of enactment of the Put
American Students First Act; and
``(2) any alien--
``(A) who is a student enrolled in the public
institution of higher education who enrolled before
such date of enactment; and
``(B) whom the institution, after completing the
verification required under subsection (c) for an
academic year after such date of enactment, determines
is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence.''.
(b) Additional Enforcement Requirements.--
(1) Violations by states.--Section 400 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(c) Disqualification of States That Provide In-State Tuition to
Illegal Aliens.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, a
State that the Secretary has determined has violated the requirements
of section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623) for a fiscal year shall be
ineligible for any grant under chapter 2 of subpart 2, subpart 4, or
subpart 6 for the fiscal year immediately following such
determination.''.
(2) Institutional requirement for participation in the
federal student loan program.--Section 487(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(30) In the case of a public institution, the institution
will comply with the requirements of section 505 of the Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.''.
(c) Effective Date.--Except as otherwise specified, the amendments
made by this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of this
Act and shall apply to academic years beginning on or after July 1,
2026.
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act or the amendments made by this Act, or
the application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is
held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the
amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provisions of
such to any person or circumstance, shall not be affected thereby.
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