JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Florida state senator introduced a bill Tuesday that, if passed, would prohibit colleges and universities from accepting applications or admitting undocumented students.
Florida State Sen. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, introduced Senate Bill 244, which would specifically impact Florida College System institutions and state universities that meet certain criteria.
Fine called the bill “SB 90 2.0,” since it would add to the recently introduced Senate Bill 90, which would repeal a decade-old law that allows some undocumented immigrant students, known as “Dreamers,” to receive in-state tuition rates at Florida universities and colleges.
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“I had had a constituent come up to me and say, ‘That’s great. But if my kid wants to go to the University of Florida, why should they lose that seat to an illegal immigrant?’” Fine said during a news conference Tuesday.
SB 244 would apply to a “Florida College System institution or a state university with an acceptance rate less than 85 percent.”
“It will say that any university that has more demand than it has spaces can no longer accept illegal immigrants at all,” Fine said.
Gaby Pacheco was once an unauthorized college student in Florida and now leads TheDream.US, a national organization that provides scholarships to immigrant students who don’t have legal authorization. She called Fine’s proposal “harmful” and “self-defeating” at a time when Florida schools are seeing enrollment declines.
“We’re failing to see as Floridians the impact that is going to have when you’re removing people who have been here for 10, 15 years,” she said. “This is their home.”
On Monday, Fine sent a press release announcing that he would re-file SB 90 as a bill to be considered during the special session that was called by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
During a Monday news conference from the Florida Capitol, DeSantis called on lawmakers to add new measures and funding to help enforce President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration policies that are expected to go into effect on day one of his presidency.
“This is a no-brainer way to reduce the size of government and free up resources to help Floridians in need. We must put Floridians first, and I am proud to do my part to rebalance the scales for our citizens,” Fine said.
The special session was scheduled for the week of Jan. 27, the week after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in.
If approved, SB 244 would take effect on July 1, 2025.