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Adds a new provision to Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) making institutions of higher education ineligible for Federal student assistance or Federal institutional aid under the Act if the institution is found to be in violation of section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a).
Amends 20 U.S.C. 1094(a) by adding a new paragraph (30) requiring institutions to participate in the E-Verify Program under section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a).
Conditions institutions’ access to federal student aid on their use of the E‑Verify employment verification system and makes campus employment of unauthorized workers a trigger for losing access to Title IV funds. It requires colleges and universities to enroll in E‑Verify and directs DHS to check every six months whether institutions are using E‑Verify and to notify the Secretary of Education within 10 days if a violation or non‑use is found. The change adds a new loss-of-aid rule to the Higher Education Act, amends the institutional eligibility criteria to require E‑Verify participation, and creates a regular DHS monitoring and reporting duty to the Department of Education.
Adds a new section 124, titled "Ineligibility due to employment of unauthorized aliens," to Part B of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.).
No institution of higher education shall be eligible to receive funds from Federal student assistance or Federal institutional aid under this Act if the institution is found to be in violation of section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a).
The ineligibility rule applies notwithstanding any other provision of law (i.e., it overrides contrary legal provisions).
Adds clause (30) to Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 stating: 'The institution will participate in the E-Verify Program under section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a).'
The Secretary of Homeland Security must monitor, every 6 months, whether an institution of higher education is participating in the E‑Verify Program under section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.
Primary impacts fall on colleges and universities, their students, and campus employees. Institutions must enroll in and operate E‑Verify, which will impose administrative and operational costs (staff time, systems, training). Public colleges and universities could view this as an unfunded mandate because the requirement and monitoring duties are added without explicit funding. If DHS finds an institution employed unauthorized workers or is not using E‑Verify, the institution risks losing Title IV funds; that outcome would directly harm students who rely on Pell grants and federal loans, and could destabilize institutional budgets. Campus hiring practices may change: institutions may tighten hiring and documentation checks, reduce informal hiring pathways (including for student workers), and potentially limit hiring of individuals with unclear immigration status. DHS and the Department of Education will take on new monitoring and enforcement coordination duties; DHS must perform semiannual checks and issue rapid notifications, which may increase DHS workload. The measure is likely to prompt legal and political dispute over federal immigration enforcement on campuses, institutional autonomy, and potential impacts on access to higher education for students at affected institutions.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced March 25, 2025 by James E. Banks · Last progress March 25, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate