Federal Court Rejects Education Department Policy Limiting Jay Treaty Student Aid Access

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York on September 1, 2026, handed down a significant decision in Rourke-Rodriguez et al. v. U.S. Department of Education, granting summary judgment to the plaintiffs – members of New York's Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe – and striking down a U.S. Department of Education (ED) policy that required American Indian students born in Canada, known as Jay Treaty students, to obtain immigration documents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) before they could receive federal student aid.

The court vacated the policy in its entirety, meaning that Jay Treaty students should no longer be required to obtain green cards or other DHS documentation to access federal student aid.

The case challenged a policy change ED made when it quietly replaced a long-standing documentation framework that had allowed Jay Treaty students to demonstrate their eligibility using readily accessible documents such as band cards, birth records or Tribal affidavits. Without explanation, ED adopted new guidance requiring these students to instead produce DHS-issued immigration documents, such as a green card or temporary I-551 stamp, before they could access Title IV aid.

The court found that ED's new requirement was unlawful for two independent reasons: First, ED failed to adequately explain why it was abandoning its long-standing policy, making the change arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act, and second, the new requirement exceeded ED's legal authority under the Higher Education Act, which does not require lawful permanent residents to submit immigration documents from the government to qualify for aid.

What the Decision Means

For those who work in federal Indian law, education law or Tribal advocacy, the decision provides meaningful support for the rights of Jay Treaty students and communities to which they belong. The court's statutory analysis confirms that American Indians born in Canada and deemed lawful permanent residents under the Immigration and Nationality Act cannot be subjected to additional immigration documentation requirements that the U.S. Congress did not authorize.

The court also rejected ED's attempts to shift blame for the students' injuries to their universities, holding that the policy itself was the cause of harm; students who were previously eligible for aid were effectively shut out when ED changed the rules without justification.

This is a precedent-setting victory for the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and an important result for Jay Treaty students across the country.

For more information or questions, please contact the author.

Note: Holland & Knight represented the plaintiffs in this case.

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