President Trump’s Justice Department just threw down the gauntlet against Kentucky’s Democrat governor, filing a major federal lawsuit over a policy that hands in-state college tuition discounts to illegal immigrants—while out-of-state American citizens are left paying full freight.

Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the DOJ’s legal action against Governor Andy Beshear, accusing him of violating federal law and discriminating against U.S. citizens. “No state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country,” Bondi said. “The Department of Justice just won on this exact issue in Texas, and we look forward to fighting in Kentucky to protect the rights of American citizens.”

The DOJ’s lawsuit zeroes in on a state regulation pushed by Beshear’s administration that offers taxpayer-subsidized tuition breaks to illegal aliens residing in Kentucky. The policy, the DOJ argues, violates a clear federal statute that bans in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants unless those same benefits are universally extended to all U.S. citizens—regardless of their home state.

Here’s the issue: under Beshear’s rule, an illegal alien who has lived in Kentucky can pay lower tuition than a legal American citizen from, say, Indiana or Ohio. According to the federal government’s complaint, that’s a clear-cut violation of the law.

The federal statute in question is unambiguous. It states that “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.”

In plain English, states are prohibited from giving college benefits to illegal immigrants if they don’t also give them to every U.S. citizen—no matter what state they come from. But Beshear’s regulation does exactly the opposite, opening Kentucky colleges to legal challenges for what many consider an unconstitutional giveaway.

This case comes on the heels of the DOJ’s legal victory in Texas, where a similar in-state tuition scheme for illegal aliens was successfully struck down. Trump’s DOJ is now looking to repeat that win in Kentucky and create a ripple effect nationwide.

The lawsuit, officially titled United States v. Beshear, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. DOJ lawyers are seeking a permanent injunction that would bar the state from continuing to enforce the regulation. If successful, it could force Kentucky to overhaul its tuition policies—and discourage other blue states from following suit.

The legal challenge lands at a politically explosive moment, with Democrats across the country facing heat for prioritizing illegal immigrants over struggling American families. Tuition costs are already crushing middle-class families, and the idea that a non-citizen can get a better deal than a U.S. citizen has sparked outrage on both sides of the aisle.

Critics argue that Beshear’s policy is not just legally flawed, but morally indefensible. At a time when American students are drowning in debt and out-of-state families pay steep tuition bills, offering subsidized education to illegal aliens feels like a slap in the face to citizens who play by the rules.

The case could have national implications. If the DOJ wins again, it may embolden other red states to take action against similar tuition discount schemes, potentially unraveling a patchwork of blue-state policies designed to curry favor with left-wing immigration activists.

For now, Governor Beshear hasn’t commented on the lawsuit. But his decision to put illegal immigrants ahead of Americans may come back to haunt him—both in court and at the ballot box.