When Florida lawmakers passed the tuition waiver law more than a decade ago, it was a bipartisan effort championed by then-state Rep. Jeanette Nuñez, a Miami Republican who went on to become Gov. Ron DeSantis' lieutenant governor. That a decade later Nuñez would support dismantling what had been one of her signature achievements is a sign of how much the state's immigration politics have shifted toward Trump's priorities.
According to state data, more than 6,500 students qualified for what’s known as the out-of-state tuition waiver during the 2023-2024 school year. That waiver was revoked as of July 1, after DeSantis signed the bill repealing the tuition cuts.
The cost difference is substantial. At the flagship University of Florida, a state resident is estimated to pay about $6,380 in tuition for the 2025-2026 academic year compared with about $30,900 for a nonresident student. Housing, transportation and other expenses can add another $17,000 or more.
Florida's state colleges and universities don't specifically track the enrollment of students without legal status, but some immigrant advocates say they expect fewer students to attend in-person classes, and many to give up on college altogether.
Diego Dulanto Falcon earned a bachelor's in psychology thanks to the tuition waiver. Now he's pursuing his master's in public health at the University of South Florida.
In losing access to in-state tuition, Dulanto Falcon said students without legal status are being cut off from a range of opportunities.
“Fully undocumented students, they have absolutely no options,” Dulanto Falcon said. “They either work under the table or they just don’t work at all.”
