The Board of Governors of the Florida State University System unanimously approved a new policy this Thursday, without debate, that prohibits the enrollment of students without legal immigration status in the state's public universities, during a meeting held at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers.
The measure will not take effect immediately: the prohibition on new enrollments will begin with the academic year 2027-2028 and will apply to the 12 public four-year universities governed by that board.
The new regulation establishes that anyone "illegally present in the United States" will be excluded from enrolling in state institutions that are not required to admit all academically qualified applicants. The Board did not include a specific list of the affected centers in the text.
Esta decisión forma parte de un panorama migratorio en constante cambio. Sigue todas las novedades que afectan a los inmigrantes en para estar siempre informado.
Florida, the fourth state to restrict access to public higher education for undocumented students
The decision extends to public universities a restriction that the State Board of Education had already approved on July 1, 2026, for the 28 centers of the Florida College System and for adult education programs, including those for high school diploma preparation and English as a second language.
With this prohibition, Florida becomes the fourth state —and the most populous— to restrict undocumented students' access to public higher education, following Alabama, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Data from the President's Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration indicates that around 8,000 students without legal immigration status graduate each year from high schools in Florida, a state that ranks among those with the highest number of undocumented students in its public education system.
Robert Cassanello, president of the United Faculty of Florida, rejected the measure and warned that it "will affect the children of undocumented workers who have studied in the public schools of the state."
He also described the logic behind it as "absurd, especially at a time when university enrollment is declining nationwide," and warned that many of these young people end up contributing to sectors such as business, the arts, and engineering.
The governor Ron DeSantis had supported a similar measure in July, arguing that "if a student is illegally in the country, their spot in public institutions should be available for a Florida resident."
Gustavo Rivera, director of the League of United Latin American Citizens of Florida (LULAC), stated that the policy will have a disproportionate impact on Latino students and immigrant families, and that denying access to higher education based on immigration status "violates the principle of equal opportunity and could deprive Florida of skilled workers and professionals."
This new restriction is part of an escalation of immigration measures in the education sector that Florida has accelerated since 2025, when DeSantis repealed a 2014 policy that allowed students without legal status to pay resident fees for public higher education.
"In Florida's history, I don't know if there has been an attack of this kind against immigrants trying to educate themselves," Rivera stated.
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