The Trump administration is barring most international students and all students who entered the US illegally from receiving emergency college grants approved by Congress as part of nearly USD 2 trillion coronavirus rescue package.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued the restriction in new guidelines released Tuesday telling colleges how to distribute more than USD 6 billion in grants meant to help students cover unexpected costs triggered by the pandemic.
Earlier guidance from the Education Department suggested universities would have wide flexibility in distributing the grants, but the new guidelines said that only students who qualify for other federal student aid can receive the aid.
More than 400,000 students are estimated to have entered the US illegally.
More than 1 million international students are enrolled at US colleges.
University leaders and immigration groups blasted the change, saying DeVos is imposing new limits that were not included in Congress' legislation.
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The rescue package did not specify which students are eligible for grants, and many colleges had planned to distribute emergency grants to needy students regardless of their citizenship status.
Some prestigious universities cited the new policy in decisions to reject the funding.
Princeton University announced Wednesday that it would refuse its USD 2.4 million share of coronavirus relief over the policy.
Harvard University also cited the change in its decision to reject USD 8.7 million in aid.
The Education Department said its guidance is aligned with other federal laws.
The agency cited the Higher Education Act, a sweeping law that says only US citizens and a narrow set of "eligible noncitizens" are eligible for federal student aid.
Angela Morabito, a department spokeswoman, said the rescue package legislation "makes clear that this taxpayer funded relief fund should be targeted to US citizens, which is consistently echoed throughout the law."