After coming under pressure from attorney general Pam Bondi, Kentucky has agreed to stop providing reduced college tuition for immigrants living in the state illegally.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman (R) confirmed to Fox News Digital that a state higher education group backed down and reached an agreement with the Justice Department to end the policy, which flew in the face of common sense - and federal law.

"Under current federal law, any illegal immigrant is barred from eligibility for postsecondary education benefits, like in-state tuition, unless the same benefits are offered to every U.S. citizen," Coleman said.

Ending preferential treatment

Bondi's action came after Trump signed executive orders to end preferential treatment for illegal aliens - part of a larger effort by Trump to prioritize Americans and eliminate incentives for illegal immigration.

Under federal law, an illegal alien shall not be eligible "on the basis of residence within a state for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit."

Despite this prohibition, Kentucky was requiring public colleges and universities to give illegal aliens the reduced, in-state tuition rate.

In June, Bondi sued Kentucky's governor, Andy Beshear (D), and education officials, alleging unconstitutional discrimination against American citizens.

“No state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens," Bondi said at the time.

Latino group intervenes

Bondi's move faced opposition from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), which sued on behalf of illegal immigrants belonging to a group called Kentucky Students for Affordable Tuition (KSAT).

MALDEF complained that ending Kentucky's policy, which had been in effect since 2002, would make tuition substantially more expensive for students living in America illegally.

“The DOJ’s pattern of collusive lawsuits challenging affordable tuition for immigrant students is a nativist abuse of federal authority,” said Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF president and general counsel, in a statement, noting that "these laws have stood for years without challenge by administrations of both parties.”

Victory for Americans

Of course, just because a bad policy has been left alone for years does not mean it should continue indefinitely. It is to Trump's credit that this absurd policy has finally been overturned.

There are plenty of Americans who are struggling to put their kids through college without financial help, and finding a secure job is increasingly difficult for young Ameircans in a market saturated with foreigners.

Gov. Beshear tried to distance himself from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (KCPE), which rescinded the policy, but Coleman said the governor has more control than he acknowledges.

"He appointed most members of the KCPE and in real world you're responsible for those that you appoint to these roles, that you have influence on those you appoint to these role, but yet of course who wants to walk away from that because of the nonsensical nature of this," Coleman told Fox News Digital.

Coleman said the DOJ's settlement is now awaiting a signature from a federal judge, but that is a formality.