Students without legal status drop out as states roll back in-state tuition benefits

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Carlie was hoping to spend her senior year savoring her final moments on the palm tree-lined campus of the University of Central Florida. Instead, she sits at home alone, logging on to online courses, afraid to leave her apartment and run the risk of being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A few months ago, Carlie was studying public relations in Orlando, envisioning one day working for nonprofits that help students like her. Thanks to in-state tuition and private scholarships, Carlie had been living a life she had only dreamed of in Haiti, a country she left behind at 13 years old.

Now, she’s one of thousands of Florida students whose education is being delayed or derailed after state lawmakers revoked a 2014 law that let residents who are in the country illegally qualify for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.

Across the country, tens of thousands of college students without legal status are losing access to in-state tuition as part of an immigration crackdown carried out by President Donald Trump and his allies.

“It feels like all my hard work means nothing. Like, one day I can just lose it,” said Carlie, who spoke on condition of being identified by only her first name because she fears being deported.

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 That waiver was revoked as of July 1, after DeSantis signed the bill repealing the tuition cuts.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…