The Justice Department has filed a complaint against New Jersey laws that provide in-state tuition and financial assistance to illegal immigrants. 

The laws discriminate against U.S. citizens who aren't granted the same tuition rates, scholarships and other subsidies, which is unconstitutional, according to the complaint.

“Imagine being denied the opportunity of education in your own country. By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, the state of New Jersey is doing just that," Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement. 

Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said that the agency wouldn't tolerate U.S. citizens who are being treated like "second-class citizens in their own country." 

“This is a simple matter of federal law: in New Jersey and nationwide, colleges cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to U.S. citizens," he said.