Students study at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., September 20, 2018. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)

The Trump administration on Tuesday barred college students who are residing in the country illegally from accessing billions of dollars in emergency federal aid related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Tens of thousands of colleges students without legal residency status will not be permitted to receive any of the $6 billion allocated for colleges to distribute as part of the economic stimulus package Congress passed last month. The funds are intended to help students cover the costs of expenses like food, childcare, and housing as they weather the pandemic. The prohibition applies to participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects nearly 700,000 young people who were brought to the U.S. as minors from deportation and grants them work permits. The Supreme Court is expected to decide in June whether to extend the program.


The Education Department stated in new guidelines that the federal cash assistance is earmarked for students who are also eligible to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which includes only U.S. citizens and some students with legal permanent residency. The stimulus package does not specifically mention whether students without legal status can access the cash assistance. International students will also not qualify to receive the emergency aid.

“The CARES Act makes clear that this taxpayer funded relief fund should be targeted to U.S. citizens, which is consistently echoed throughout the law,” read a statement from the Education Department.


Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said earlier this month that the federal emergency aid will be “immediately distributed,” but so far only $6 million has reportedly been handed out.

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