Florida tuition hikes triple

Florida has the third-highest number of illegal immigrant college and university students in the U.S., with the latest census data showing about 43,000, many of whom are DACA recipients. Current law saves thousands of students like these thousands of dollars, but the SB 90 bill would break this decade-old precedent.

Recently, Republican Senator Randy Fine introduced a proposal to eliminate in-state tuition treatment for undocumented students, stating that ‘it's not fair that students who live across the border in Florida, in Georgia, have to pay triple the tuition of an illegal immigrant if they want to go to college in Florida.’ Fine believes the change will have a disincentive for illegal immigration, and despite the naysayers, he says the onus is not on the state, it should be on the parents of those students.

Jeanette Nuñez, the current lieutenant governor of Florida, argued that children should not be held responsible for their parents' behaviour, that it is something they have no control over, and that the preferential tuition policy is an opportunity to create a future for all children.

What happens next depends on legislative leaders and legislative committee chairs, and next March, Floridians will know about the 2025 policy change.

-

Definition of an undocumented student:

• Students who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents, do not hold a U.S. residence visa, and have not applied for legal residency in the U.S.
• This proposal has no relevance to legal immigrants or students with visas