Credit: Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe on Facebook
U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Brindisi of the Northern District of New York ruled Sept. 1 in Rourke-Rodriguez et al. v. U.S. Department of Education that the department's documentation requirement for so-called Jay Treaty students was unlawful. The court granted the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and denied the department's cross-motion, vacating the policy in its entirety.
Jay Treaty students are American Indians born in Canada who are treated as lawful permanent residents of the United States under federal law, a status that traces to the Jay Treaty of 1794 and subsequent federal immigration law. The plaintiffs in the case are members of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, whose community spans the U.S.-Canada border.
For years, colleges could establish these students' eligibility for federal aid using documents such as tribal band cards, birth records, or tribal affidavits, without requiring separate proof of immigration status from the Department of Homeland Security. In January 2025, the Education Department changed that approach, requiring certain Jay Treaty students to instead produce DHS-issued documentation — a green card or temporary I-551 stamp, for example — to establish eligibility.
The plaintiffs argued the new requirement was inconsistent with their legal status and exceeded the department's authority under the Higher Education Act. The department, for its part, defended the policy change and cross-moved for summary judgment in its own favor; the court's opinion does not appear to have found that defense persuasive on either of the two questions before it.
Brindisi ruled against the department on two separate grounds. First, he found the department had not adequately explained its departure from longstanding policy, calling the shift "arbitrary and capricious" under the Administrative Procedure Act. Second, he concluded the requirement exceeded the department's statutory authority: the Higher Education Act identifies U.S. citizens and nationals, permanent residents, and certain other individuals as eligible for federal student aid, but the court found nothing in the statute authorizing the department to demand additional immigration documentation from students already recognized as lawful permanent residents.
The court also rejected the department's argument that responsibility for any harm to students lay with the colleges implementing the policy rather than with the department itself, finding that the policy change was the direct cause of the students' lost access to aid.
The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe described the ruling as a win for its students.
