WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit challenging Illinois laws that allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition and receive state-funded scholarships.

The complaint was filed Tuesday in the Southern District of Illinois. According to the DOJ, the law unconstitutionally discriminates against U.S. citizens from outside Illinois who do not receive the same benefits.

Federal officials say the laws conflict with federal statutes that bar states from providing education benefits to undocumented immigrants unless those benefits are also available to all U.S. citizens.

“Illinois has an apparent desire to win a ‘race to the bottom’ as the country’s leading sanctuary state,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft for the Southern District of Illinois. “This poli

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