Immigration advocates in Florida have denounced a new regulation that prohibits undocumented students from entering state colleges and universities, describing the directive as cruel and harmful.
The Florida board of education enacted the policy on Tuesday, restricting access across 28 state-funded institutions to individuals who are US citizens or legally present.
The restriction follows a previous legislative move by Florida last year that eliminated in-state tuition discounts for certain categories of immigrant students.
Critics challenged the legality of the new directive on Wednesday, noting that it was approved by a seven-member board selected by Governor Ron DeSantis rather than the elected state legislature.
Financial analysts estimate that the policy could result in an annual loss of up to $15 million for Florida due to uncollected tuition and associated fees.
Critics Question Legality and Economic Impact
Alexis Tsoukalas, senior analyst of the Florida Policy Institute, said at a press conference hosted by the Florida Immigrant Coalition: "The rule-making process is supposed to implement existing legislation and laws that were passed, not create its own, and not create its own policies, which is exactly what the department is trying to do."
Tsoukalas pointed out that the new rule contradicts the governor's "Sail to 60" initiative, a 2019 policy aimed at raising the percentage of Florida residents holding high-value post-secondary credentials to 60 percent.
"The Florida college system is already struggling with declining enrollment, this has been the case for the past several years, and it’s only gotten worse," she said.
"It’s not like there are students waiting in the wings to enroll when others are denied admission.
Florida cannot reach its attainment goal if a shrinking share are enrolling, so it is very much a concern for the state."
Alexander Vallejos, a computer science student at the University of Central Florida who immigrated from South America in 2001, expressed deep disappointment over the sudden barrier to higher education.
"This ruling sends a painful message to young people who have done everything right," he said.
"It tells them that their hard work isn’t enough, and that their dreams are less because of something they have no control over."
"Behind every policy is a real person, a student’s story, where they’re staying up late to study, a young person working two jobs to pay just to pay for college, a future engineer, teacher, nurse, entrepreneur.
They just want the chance to succeed."
Luisa Santos, an elected member of the Miami-Dade school board who moved to the United States from Colombia as a child, warned of serious ramifications for the state.
"[It’s] everything from the $15m in lost tuition and fees estimated as a result of this, and even our governor getting in his own way of stated goals like Sail to 60, which so many school districts around Florida have worked so hard to try to accomplish," she said.
"What I really want to focus on is how cruel, harmful, and just unnecessary this rule is right now.
These rule changes took me back to the darkest days of high school, where, like Alexander, I felt the world caving in on me."
"No matter how hard I worked, I felt like opportunities were being taken away."
Republican State Senator Don Gaetz defended the policy, arguing that public educational resources funded by taxpayers should be reserved exclusively for citizens and documented residents.
"The policy issue is: should illegal aliens receive taxpayer-funded higher education in Florida? And in my view, the answer to that question should be no," he said.
"And if necessary, I will file legislation to ensure that the decision of the state board is enshrined in statute."
In contrast, Democratic State Representative Anna Eskamani voiced her strong opposition to the restriction during the public comment portion of the education board meeting.
"The attempt to restrict a child’s access to higher education based on the documentation status that is no fault of their own is un-American, it’s unfaithful, and it’s absolutely also constitutionally concerning because, obviously, we did not pass legislation on this matter," she said.
