Florida's State Board of Education has voted to prohibit undocumented immigrants from enrolling in the state's 28 public colleges and adult education programs. The board approved the policy with a 6-1 vote on Tuesday, marking a significant change in the state's higher education admissions.
Daniel Foganholi was the sole board member to vote against the measure. He is a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Brazil, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
State officials asserted that the board has the authority to implement such a rule, citing Florida statutes that empower it to establish admission criteria. In 2023, Florida was home to approximately 50,000 undocumented immigrant students, as reported by the American Immigration Council.
Last year, Florida ended a program that allowed undocumented students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status to pay in-state tuition rates.
The decision faced opposition during public comment. Alex Liberman stated that "Education is not meant to be a policing system for immigrants." Virginia Bolton, a student at Florida International University, expressed her "utmost disgust and concern," calling the policy "cruel, vague and hypocritical of what the Department of Education stands for, as well as the United States Constitution."
State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, argued that the policy violates Florida law, stating that Florida law mandates an "open-door admission policy in our state college system." He also contended that the state constitution requires providing education for all children within its borders, making the new rule unconstitutional.
Governor Ron DeSantis supported the board's decision, stating that allowing individuals who are in the country illegally to attend state universities does not make sense. He expressed a preference for those spots to be allocated to Florida residents. "I would rather have that spot go to a Florida resident," DeSantis said, adding that the current situation where such students might pay less than a U.S. citizen in Georgia is illogical.
Alex Lanfranconi, communications director for DeSantis, affirmed the governor's stance, telling Fox News Digital, "Illegal immigrants have no right to attend taxpayer-funded colleges. Under Governor DeSantis, Florida will put a stop to this."