Florida Board Approves Rule Banning People 'Present in the United States Unlawfully' From Selective Campuses

Florida's Board of Governors voted unanimously on Thursday, 3 September, at a meeting in Fort Myers to approve a Florida university enrolment rule that will bar people described as 'present in the United States unlawfully' from initial enrolment at certain state universities beginning in the 2027-28 academic year.

The amendment to Regulation 6.001 applies to a state university that, during the two most recent academic years, did not admit all academically qualified applicants, excluding cases in which applicants were rejected for nonacademic reasons. The text therefore addresses initial enrolment at universities meeting that admissions test, rather than establishing a general ban on physical access to university campuses.

Florida University Enrolment Rule Sets 2027-28 Start

The Board of Governors approved the amendment during its 2-3 September meeting at Florida Gulf Coast University. The official regulation says a person who is 'present in the United States unlawfully' will not be eligible for initial enrolment at a university covered by the two-year admissions standard.

The regulation is framed around initial enrolment and does not state that students already enrolled must leave. News Service of Florida reported that the change applies to the state's 12 public universities. The State University System itself comprises 12 universities.

The amendment does not spell out how universities must determine whether an applicant falls within the phrase 'present in the United States unlawfully.' Regulation 6.001 already requires universities to publish admissions policies and an appeal process for admission decisions, but the new provision does not establish a separate procedure for challenging an immigration-status determination.

Gov. Ron DeSantis praised the board's action after the vote. In a post on X, he wrote, 'Glad to see the Board of Governors ratify the prohibition on illegal alien students at our colleges and universities.'

He added, 'Always need to put Floridians — and Americans — first.' The terminology in his statement is his own. The regulation itself uses the phrase 'present in the United States unlawfully.'

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins also backed the rule, calling it 'common sense'. He wrote, 'Florida's public universities are for students who are here legally. Period.'

Collins added, 'Florida taxpayers should not be expected to subsidize opportunities for people who broke our laws to come here.' His statement did not provide figures quantifying the taxpayer subsidy he cited.

Florida University Enrolment Rule Draws Democratic Criticism

Democratic state Rep. Anna V. Eskamani of Orlando criticised the decision on Friday, 4 September. She said the board had voted to 'slam the door on kids who have done everything we asked of them.'

Eskamani also pointed to the Legislature's failure to enact a comparable restriction. 'This is such bad policy that the legislature never passed it,' she said. News Service of Florida reported that bills seeking to restrict higher-education enrolment for people who were not legally present were filed during the 2026 legislative session but died in committee.

Eskamani also said the policy 'hurts our economy and is cruel for the sake of being cruel.' That economic assessment was her argument against the rule, not a finding contained in the Board of Governors regulation.

The American Immigration Council, an immigration research and advocacy nonprofit, estimated from 2024 American Community Survey data that Florida had 60,065 undocumented college students, or 4.3% of the state's college student population. For its analysis, the organisation defines 'undocumented' students as people without lawful immigration status who are neither US citizens nor lawful permanent residents.

That statewide estimate covers students across higher education and does not establish how many applicants will be affected by Regulation 6.001. News Service of Florida reported that the State University System does not currently track students who are not lawfully present in the United States.

Florida's amendment is scheduled to take effect with the 2027-28 academic year. Although the rule establishes the enrolment restriction, its text does not provide detailed procedures for how universities will verify whether an applicant falls within the immigration-status language.