Uproar After Florida Denies In-State Tuition to Citizen Students

The Florida state legislature sparked controversy recently when it struck down a bill that would have allowed U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rate like all other Florida residents.

Lawmakers voted to kill the bill despite emotional testimonies from several college students, including 20-year-old Carla Montes. Montes described how she cried for three days after being denied in-state tuition because her undocumented parents couldn’t afford the out-of-state tuition rate, which is three times higher. Under U.S. law, children born in the country to undocumented immigrants are American citizens, called “birthright citizenship.”

Unmoved, Republican legislators interrupted Montes multiple times as she told her story, attempting to refute the notion that their ruling was unfair.

“As a U.S.-born American citizen I can vote, I pay taxes, I attended school in Florida, ” Montes told the committee.

“No, no, no, we’re talking about your parents,” barked Sen. Steve Oelrich. “That’s how we establish residency in the state of Florida, by the status of your parents.”

Montes shot back: “With all respect, the person who is sitting in the classroom, the person who’s giving back to this economy is me, not my parents.”

One after another, student testifiers were interrupted and ridiculed in front of the committee before being forced to watch the crucial legislation die before them in the committee chamber. The bill, SB 1018, would have closed a loophole in Florida law that excludes citizens from in-state tuition benefits due to the residency status of their parents. Its defeat stunned Florida students and immigration advocates nationwide.

“We were shocked,” said Beatriz De La Espriella, a senior at the University of Florida involved in several pro-immigrant student groups including Chispas. “We thought [passing the bill] would be easy because the students are U.S. citizens.”

De La Espriella said that the fight was not over and that student groups plan to continue protesting at the state capital.

The decision by the Florida legislature is part of a recent trend in which some state officials have taken tough stances against undocumented immigrants, regardless of how law-abiding citizens could be affected. Last year, Arizona, Alabama, Indiana, South Carolina, and Utah all passed controversial anti-immigrant laws that faced intense scrutiny from federal courts.

Georgia could soon follow suit. The Peach State is considering a law that would ban undocumented students from attending any Georgia public college. Dozens of undocumented students attended a hearing by the state’s House Higher Education Committee and stood silently in protest.

“This is about dreams; it’s about goals,” said one emotional Georgia student. “I really hope that this state government doesn’t stop and halt dreams.”

These hardline approaches by state governments are likely to continue. Policies that appear to be cracking down on undocumented immigrants have generally garnered widespread public support, and lawmakers facing tough re-election battles have realized the strategic value of taking tough—if not unfair—stances against such immigrants.

But Florida and Georgia students have shown no signs of giving up.

“This is not going to stop us,” warned De La Espriella. “This is not the end.”

Graham White is a journalism intern for Campus Progress. You can follow him on Twitter @GrahamWhiteNY.

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