‘Dreamers’ dread losing in-state tuition status

The Florida Capitol Building. Downtown Tallahassee. USA 2024

A new immigration bill in Florida that outlines new restraints for those who are here in the state illegally will now take away in-state tuition for “Dreamer” college students.

If this bill is signed into law, more than 6,500 “Dreamer” students will no longer be able to receive in-state tuition, which allows many of them to stay in school. “Dreamer” stands for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, a piece of legislation that gives immigrant youth brought to the country as a young child a way to legal status and citizenship. 

Removing the in-state tuition falls in line with Gov. Ron DeSantis as he tried to repeal the 2014 law that allows students with illegal status to pay lower tuition rates. The Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy, or TRUMP Act, is an 80-plus page bill that cracks down on immigration and immigrants in Florida.

The bill is the  result of a two-day special session that was held by Florida’s Legislature after DeSantis called for his own special session on Monday, making many lawmakers unhappy about him trying to force his power. Though the bill has passed in both the House and the Senate, DeSantis posted on his X account, “The veto pen is ready.” and called the bill “weak.”

On Tuesday, Democratic senate members and state representatives fought to amend the bill by removing the tuition-waiving idea, but all amendments failed.

During the special session on Tuesday, Representative Michele Rayner called for her colleagues to show some humanity in their decision to adopt Representative Hunschofsky’s amendment.

Hunschofsky’s amendment, which was one of many, suggested that students who currently receive the fee waiver will not be re-evaluated for eligibility based on Chapter 1009, section 26 of the 2020 Florida statutes (fee waivers).

“I understand we have the law, but there is also humanity, and it is concerning to me that we are going to allow children who qualify for the fee waiver or tuition here in the state of Florida who are already in school, and we have a date in July for them to figure out how they’re going to pay for school.” the district 62 representative said during the house select committee on illegal immigration session.

“I understand we have a problem, but my god, where is the humanity? I just think we’re a little bit better than this,” she added before the amendment was voted on and failed.

A student whose parents were born in the Dominican Republic says their education is very important to them.

“I’ve always been taught that it’s the one thing no one can take away from me and one thing that can continue to expand even after college,” said the second-year student, who asked to remain anonymous. 

Thousands of students may have to stop their education because the government is taking away access to higher education at the lower cost of in-state tuition.

Another student who chose to stay anonymous for the sake of the safety of their family says this would be a significant change that makes no sense.

“It not only saddens me, but it makes me come to the realization that he (DeSantis) is essentially trying to strip what they came to this country for from them.”

Though this chemical engineering student is an American citizen, their mother, who is originally from Jamaica, was stopped and arrested for being undocumented when they were younger, so they, too, know the impact of the lockdown on immigration.

“I won’t be affected by it personally, but I am sure this is going to be the difference between many illegal immigrants getting college degrees and not getting college degrees. All they ever wanted to do was come here for a better life, and taking away in-state tuition makes it almost impossible for them to afford to go to school.”