TAMPA, Fla — The dream of higher education in the state of Florida has gotten harder to achieve for students without legal immigration status.
Students at the University of South Florida plan to protest Tuesday over a change to who can enroll at state universities. They're demanding USF become a sanctuary campus and not comply with the ban.
WATCH USF Students plan to protest ban on higher education for undocumented students
In July, the State Department of Education put limits on Florida community colleges — undocumented students are no longer eligible for initial enrollment. Then, at the beginning of September, the Board of Governors did the same thing, but this time at Florida public universities. A few weeks later, the Florida State Board of Education put the same limitations on students at trade and vocational schools.
"I do not think it’s fair. I think it’s really unfair. Everyone should be on the same level, and everyone deserves freedom and education. It’s not their fault, like, they didn’t ask for this," said Jezlyn Delacruz, a student at Polk State College. We spoke to her earlier this month. “Let’s say they're born here and they wanna come here and now they can't because something their parents did. It's not their fault, so they shouldn't be paying the price for something that they didn't do.”
Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association, shared the same thought process.
"These are Dreamers. These are young people who came here often as infants or as toddlers. They have only known Florida as their home, and yet because they are undocumented through no fault of their own, because their families wanted a better life," he said. "They're now being denied higher education, at least here in the state of Florida, and it kind of puts them in the situation of: where do they go now?"
Spar said there are more than 50,000 undocumented students enrolled in state universities, and this ruling could impact 8,000 more wanting to go to college next year.
But Governor Ron DeSantis and Lt. Governor Jay Collins praised the decision. Collins called it common sense. He said in part, "Florida taxpayers should not be expected to subsidize opportunities for people who broke our laws to come here."
The changes are expected to take place in the 2027-28 academic year.
The protest on USF's campus is set for 4:30 p.m. at the corner of USF's Palm Drive and Fletcher Avenue. Students have said, "Hands off higher education" is their message to the governor.
This is a developing story. We will update with new information once the protest begins.
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