OMAHA — Two Nebraska nonprofits — one that advocates for Ukrainian refugees and another that’s provided scholarships to undocumented teens since 2014 — have taken legal action to stop the Trump and Pillen administrations from nixing Nebraska’s in-state tuition law.
Orel Alliance and True Potential Scholarship, both based in Omaha, filed a legal request this week to intervene in a federal court case. They want to defend the state law that for two decades has made college more affordable for certain noncitizen students who call Nebraska home.
Their filing follows action last month by the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Nebraska, which jointly seek to invalidate the 2006 in-state tuition law through a proposed consent judgement. Court approval has yet to be granted, but it would resolve the governments’ claim that Nebraska law unconstitutionally discriminates against U.S. citizens in favor of illegal immigrants.
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Orel Alliance and True Potential are represented by the national Democracy Forward and Nebraska Appleseed. Their legal team seeks the federal court’s permission to intervene in the case — to protect the nonprofits’ interests in providing and supporting educational opportunities they said are now imperiled.
The nonprofits said their intervention is “particularly appropriate,” because the proposed consent decree was not the product of “procedurally fair” or “good-faith” negotiations.
“Rather, federal and state officials collaborated to achieve a jointly desired outcome, without regard to the democratic process,” their legal filing says.
It said the court should not invalidate statutes “without the participation of anyone willing to provide a defense of the interests of the thousands of Nebraska residents who would be harmed.”
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers declined to comment Friday.
The nonprofits noted that the Nebraska Legislature has repeatedly declined to repeal or amend the instate-tuition eligibility requirements. Most recently, in 2026, two separate bills that would have modified the practice failed to advance. Both bills drew heavy public opposition.
Their Thursday court filing laid out a chronology, saying that three days after the Legislature adjourned for this year, the federal government brought the in-state tuition suit against Nebraska, charging that the law and related scholarships violate the Supremacy Clause. The same day, the state joined the federal government in calling for a consent judgement to declare the law invalid.
“Despite his duty to ‘defend actions and claims against the state’ the Nebraska attorney general immediately capitulated once the complaint was filed,” the nonprofits’ team wrote. “He waived service of process, consented to the court’s jurisdiction and made no effort to defend the constitutionality of these statutes.”
They said Gov. Jim Pillen “made clear” in statements that “the litigation had been choreographed and that the parties had prearranged this suit to achieve shared policy goals.” Pillen’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Orel board said their Ukrainian refugee clients came to the U.S. to escape war, and that they pay state and federal taxes. Eliminating in-state tuition rates, the group said, effectively denies Ukrainian newcomers access to higher education and advancement of their English studies and professional training.
“These students and adult learners strengthen Nebraska,” Orel said in a statement. “This proposed change would shut them out of the ‘good life.’”
As Nebraska law currently stands, students who graduate from Nebraska high schools after living here for three years and who meet certain other criteria — regardless of immigration status — can continue their education in the state by paying the same tuition rates as local counterparts who are U.S. citizens.
Many of the students served by Orel and True Potential live and work in Nebraska under immigration programs such as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and TPS (Temporary Protected Status) or have pending asylum applications. The nonprofits’ legal filing said Nebraska has taken the stance that those program participants are not lawfully present. They argue the proposed consent judgement, by rendering many of their clients ineligible for the in-state tuition, would interfere with their core business activities.
For the coming school year, Orel said it planned to assist 23 Ukrainian immigrants with applying to the University of Nebraska at Omaha, half of whom have pending TPS or asylum applications. Orel said education assistance is a primary outreach to Ukrainians.
“Orel’s ability to refer those students to UNO is dependent on their eligibility for in-state tuition, without which education would be prohibitively expensive,” the court filing said.
True Potential, an affiliate of Matters on Tomorrow, funds full tuition and fees for many students who are ineligible for federal financial aid, live in Nebraska or Council Bluffs, Iowa, completed their senior year of high school in the U.S. and plan to attend an area community or state college.
Omaha attorney Ross Pesek, who co-founded the “pay-it-forward” effort in 2014 with his wife, Karen, said the Nebraska Legislature “got it right.”
“When young people grow up here, graduate from Nebraska schools and are ready to contribute to Nebraska’s future, we should open doors for them — not slam them shut,” he said.
The state-federal move to repeal in-state tuition is the ninth case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice to invalidate state tuition laws and the fourth in which the state has “refused to defend its own law,” according to a news release by Democracy Forward.
The court should not allow a backroom agreement between federal and state officials to strip away opportunity without hearing from those whose futures are on the line,” said Paul Wolfson, senior legal advisor at Democracy Forward.
The court filing said the state-federal “collusive settlement” would triple tuition costs for many students and likely prompt some to forgo college. They said it would inhibit the nonprofits’ ability to fulfill commitments already made to current students.
“Simply put, (the) proposed intervenors’ ability to continue supporting Nebraska residents pursuing higher education, and the tremendous economic and professional opportunities it makes available, hinges on the ability of those students to attend at in-state tuition rates.”
This story is provided by States Newsroom, a nonprofit state news network and Blox Digital content partner.
