In line with President Trump’s strict immigration policies, DeSantis wants to completely get rid of immigrants in Florida
Florida – Since President Donald Trump got back in the White House office, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has become extremely vocal in supporting measures and state laws similar to Trump’s promises made during the presidential race last year, especially in terms of illegal immigration and the status of illegal immigrants in the country. Earlier this week, Gov. DeSantis announced his support of eliminating property taxes for Florida residents, a remark that put the social media networks on fire. On another occasion, DeSantis said that Florida students without legal status should not be allowed to study, once again reaffirming his commitment to fighting illegal immigration in the Sunshine State.
In what seems to be a significant change in Florida’s higher education policy, Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Friday that the state’s colleges and universities should not accept students who are illegally living in the state. The statement followed the governor’s signature of SB 2-C, a legislation requiring students attending Florida high schools but living in the state without official permission to pay out-of-state tuition fee.
Effective from July 1, the new law nullifies a 2014 bipartisan agreement allowing these students to pay in-state tuition, therefore reversing a past policy. For many, this reversal is projected to sharply raise the expense of education. Governor DeSantis emphasized his stance during a press conference in Ponte Vedra Beach.
“I don’t think you should be admitted to college in Florida if you’re here illegally, but to give in-state tuition was just a slap in the face to taxpayers,” DeSantis said.
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Following a divisive six-hour debate in the Republican-led Legislature which finally passed SB 2-C, the announcement has spurred a heated discussion and attracted strong criticism. In particular, some South Florida Republicans broke ranks, supporting a failed amendment by Democrats that would have permitted students now paying in-state tuition to keep doing so until their studies were over.
Democrat from Orange County Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith issued a strong warning on the effects of this law, forecasting a notable dropout rate among impacted children. Students have been priced out of acquiring a degree and higher education, Guillermo Smith clarified. The Florida Policy Institute estimates that public university in-state students pay on average $22,464 annually.
Republican Senator Randy Fine has added SB 244, a measure aimed at preventing public universities and state schools with an acceptance rate less than 85% from enrolling students without legal immigration status, further complicating the situation. The fate of this bill remains uncertain as it lacks a companion bill in the House and Senator Fine is expected to leave the state legislature for Congress in April.
The governor also attacked a long-standing U.S. Supreme Court ruling ensuring children’s access to public school independent of their legal status. Governor DeSantis referred to it as a “bad decision” and expressed hope for its reassessment.
The Florida Education Association (FEA) has reiterated the constitutional rights of children to access education. The FEA’s comment underlined the need of defending these rights, particularly in an environment that may promote fear and hostility against underprivileged communities.
“We do not want to speculate, nor do we want to fan the flames of fear in a community that is already vulnerable. But we will reiterate that every child in Florida is entitled to a public education regardless of immigration status, per the U.S. Constitution,” the Florida Education Association wrote in a statement Wednesday. “An ICE raid on schools for any other reason, political or otherwise, is not only harmful to every child in our care but is blatantly un-American.”
These legislative developments indicate a strong posture on immigration policy in Florida, in line with analogous actions in other Republican-controlled states like Tennessee. Florida, on the other hand, keeps ensuring access to public education for all children as per federal law, unlike Tennessee, which is considering letting school districts reject enrollment to individuals lacking permanent legal status.
