The Legislature on Tuesday night voted to cancel in-state tuition for Dreamers, and their advocates insisted the move will not only hurt Florida, but contradict the man whom the new legislation is named for: President Donald Trump.
Dreamers are immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children by family, and covered under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals act. Because of those circumstances, in 2014 Florida granted them the lower tuition that state residents pay to attend public colleges and universities.
Republicans like Sen. Rick Scott, then governor, and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, then a state representative, at the time strongly supported the measure. Nuñez in fact sponsored it, calling it a balance of "fairness with pragmatism, compassion with common sense."
"Let's not hold these children responsible for actions that their parents took, something they had no control over," Nuñez said then. "Let's allow for opportunities for all Florida's children."
Largely as a result of that law, some 40,000 students covered under DACA are enrolled in higher education in Florida.
But now — as Trump pressures states to join a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration and Florida Republicans rush to show their loyalty to him — even Nuñez says the decade-old law has overstayed its welcome.
Last month, GOP state Senate President Ben Albritton proposed phasing out the tuition law.
At the same time, however, activists like Gaby Pacheco, a Dreamer who is president and CEO of the nonprofit TheDream.US in Miami, claim there's a big disconnect at play.
“They’re trying so hard to out-Trump Trump they don't seem to realize they're going against Trump."Gabriela Pacheco, TheDream.US president and CEO
The repeal is part of a sweeping immigration bill called the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy, or TRUMP act, that passed Tuesday night during a special session of the Legislature.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has vowed to veto the measure, saying it was not strong enough. The Legislature could override the veto, however.
The part of the TRUMP act that takes the in-state tuition away, Pacheco argues, actually contradicts Trump.
“They’re trying so hard to out-Trump Trump they don't seem to realize they're going against Trump," Pacheco said about lawmakers, "because Trump has repeatedly said, ‘We need to do something for these students, the Dreamers.' ”
Trump told NBC last month that Republicans should be "very open to [helping] the Dreamers." Asked if he wants to see them stay in the U.S., Trump said unequivocally: "I do."
Even so, Florida Republicans refused to remove the tuition provision.
Cost or benefits?
GOP legislators argue that giving the Dreamers the in-state tuition benefit costs the state too much money, about $45 million a year.
Republican state Sen. Randy Fine of Brevard County this week called it "immoral" to give these students the same tuition benefit as a legal resident.
Pacheco points out, however, that the in-state tuition Dreamers pay amounts to about $15 million a year, which the state would also lose if the benefit is yanked, given that most Dreamers would not be able to afford higher out-of-state tuitions.
And because Florida Deamers pay taxes, she says, they themselves contribute to the state revenues that subsidize in-state tuition.
Pacheco adds that Trump himself says many Dreamers parlay their college degrees into successful businesses and professions, contributing to their communities as nurses, teachers and entrepreneurs. Again, on NBC, Trump said that "in many cases they have become successful."
"They have great jobs; in some cases they have small businesses — in some cases they might have large businesses," Trump said.
Pacheco stresses: “A college degree, on average, close to doubles what someone with only a high school diploma earns. So we’re talking about billions of dollars in taxes and spending power."
Almost 7,000 Dreamers have taken advantage of Florida in-state tuition each year.
Since DACA was put in place by President Barack Obama in 2012, these immigrants and their advocates have urged Congress to grant them lawful U.S. residence.
Information from News Service of Florida was used in this report.
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