Virginia’s newly inaugurated Attorney General Jay Jones filed a motion Wednesday to withdraw from an agreement his predecessor made with the U.S. Department of Justice to invalidate the state’s Dream Act, which allows undocumented immigrants to receive in-state tuition rates at Virginia colleges and universities. Jones took office this month as a Democrat, replacing Republican Jason Miyares, who had joined the federal government’s legal challenge to the 2020 law.

The reversal comes as the Trump administration pursues similar in-state tuition challenges in at least six other states, signaling a broader effort to restrict education benefits for immigrants without legal status.

Virginia’s new Attorney General Jay Jones reversed his state’s legal position Wednesday, withdrawing from an agreement that allowed the Trump administration to pursue a federal lawsuit against the state’s law permitting undocumented immigrants to receive in-state college tuition.

Jones’ predecessor, Republican Jason Miyares, had signed on to support the U.S. Department of Justice’s challenge to the 2020 Virginia Dream Act. The DOJ filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on December 29, and Miyares joined the case a day later.

“On day one, I promised Virginians I would fight back against the Trump Administration’s attacks on our Commonwealth, our institutions of higher education, and most importantly – our students,” Jones said in a statement. “Virginians deserve leaders who will put them first, and that’s exactly what my office will continue to do.”

The Dream Act and Federal Challenge

The Virginia Dream Act allows students who attended Virginia high schools to qualify for in-state tuition rates regardless of immigration status. The U.S. Department of Justice contends the law violates federal statute by providing benefits to undocumented immigrants that are unavailable to out-of-state U.S. citizens.

“This is a simple matter of federal law: in Virginia and nationwide, schools cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said when announcing the lawsuit. The Justice Department did not comment on Jones’ motion, citing the pending litigation.

Advocacy Groups Step In

After Miyares’ decision to support the DOJ, several organizations filed motions to intervene in the lawsuit. The Legal Aid Justice Center, ACLU of Virginia, and Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund sought to represent affected students’ interests.

“These are Virginia students who grew up in the Commonwealth, graduated from our high schools, contribute to our communities, and made life-altering decisions for their futures relying on a state law that has existed for years,” said Rohmah Javed, director of the Immigrant Justice Program at the Legal Aid Justice Center. “They are Virginians in every way that matters, and they deserve someone to stand up and fight for them.”

The Virginia case is one of several in-state tuition lawsuits the DOJ has initiated. The department has pursued similar challenges in Texas, Kentucky, Illinois, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and California, demonstrating a systematic effort to restrict education benefits to undocumented immigrants across multiple states.