Florida Bars Undocumented Students from Public Universities

The Florida Board of Governors voted Thursday to bar undocumented students from attending selective institutions in the state’s public university system.

According to the new regulation, which passed the board unanimously and without discussion, starting next academic year, anyone “who is present in the United States unlawfully” cannot enroll in any of the state’s 12 public universities that “did not admit all academically qualified applicants” for the past two academic years.

The move follows a similar vote in June by the Florida State Board of Education, which banned undocumented students from the state’s 28-college system and adult education programs. Florida had already eliminated in-state tuition for undocumented students last year, before the Trump administration began suing states for the practice on the grounds that it discriminated against U.S. citizens from other states.

Florida now joins Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina in prohibiting any student without legal documentation from enrolling in a public institution.

Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins celebrated the move on X, writing, “Florida’s public universities are for students who are here legally. Period …. Florida taxpayers should not be expected to subsidize opportunities for people who broke our laws to come here.”

Union leaders called on state officials to reject the rule.

“The Board of Governors has lost sight of its responsibility to safeguard higher education for the common good,” said Robert Cassanello, president of the United Faculty of Florida, in a statement. “Rather than increasing our university system’s capacity to educate Florida’s future workers and leaders, this rule stymies growth and closes doors that have helped our communities, which is especially devastating at a time when Florida faces critical shortages in healthcare, education, and skilled trades.”