Just hours after the Florida Legislature passed one of the nation’s strictest immigration bills, Hernan, a college student from central Florida, found himself in a state of anxiety and paranoia.
His biggest worry: paying his college tuition. He’s currently paying about $3,000 a year for in-state tuition and fees. The bill, if signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, would require him to pay more than $10,000 for the academic year.
Hernan, who asked his last name not to be used, is one of nearly 7,000 “Dreamers” who bank on Florida’s less expensive in-state tuition to afford to go to college. He obtained legal U.S. residency status through the Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals program. Known as DACA, it allows immigrants brought to the country illegally as children to legally work and live in the country.
“If you were put in my shoes, I came here when I was four years old. I went through the K-12 process. I have no criminal records. I contribute to society,” said Hernan. “If the [in-state tuition for Dreamers] gets taken out, then it wouldn’t seem fair to me. I grew up here and I did the same things as everyone else.”
READ MORE: Florida Legislature votes to cancel Dreamers' in-state tuition. But is it contradicting Trump?
The Legislature late last month passed a massive 75-page immigration bill that aligns the state with President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Dubbed the TRUMP Act, the legislation would strengthen immigration enforcement in Florida and increases criminal penalties for undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes. The bill also would deny in-state tuition to minors without legal status who attend Florida colleges and universities.
“When we give that spot to an illegal immigrant, we are taking that spot away from a Floridian or someone from the other 49 states or someone from a country around the world who wants to come here legally and pay full price,” said state Sen. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne, who co-sponsored the bill.
But Hernan disagreed.
“I believe kids, like me, deserve a second chance to prove ourselves,” he argued.
His family immigrated from Chiapas, a southern Mexican state that borders Guatemala, and illegally entered the U.S. While Hernan does not remember the journey because he was only four years old, his earliest memory is starting kindergarten in the U.S.
“I came here really young,” he said. “So, this place is my home.”
In late 2017, he enrolled in Seminole State College in Sanford and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in construction management. He expects to graduate next year.
He credited his major to his stepdad, who worked for a construction company. As a child, Hernan tagged along for meetings with project managers, architects and engineers, sparking an interest in the business.
His ultimate goal is to become a construction project manager.
Hernan currently qualifies for Florida’s in-state tuition waiver and has a scholarship from the Seminole State College and the Hope Community Center, an immigrant advocate group. He was unable to apply for the Florida Bright Futures program in high school because he’s not a U.S. citizen.
In-state tuition vs. out-of-state tuition
The average in-state tuition for Florida’s community colleges is roughly $3,000, while the average tuition is $6,000 at Florida universities. Out-of-state tuition is usually 3½ times more.
The Florida Policy Institute, a Tallahassee-based think tank, estimates that state colleges and universities may lose about $15 million annually if the bill gets signed into law denying in-state tuition to certain immigrants.
“Tuition fairness benefits everyone — the state, our higher education institutions, and Florida families, both documented and undocumented,” said Sadaf Knight, CEO of FPI, in a statement.
Hernan has a part-time job at a landscaping company, where he works a few days a week and typically earns $130 during an eight-hour shift. But if he’s denied in-state tuition, he says he can’t rely solely on landscaping to pay for his schooling and would have to look for a second job.
“One class would be $1,200, $1,300,” he said. “I could possibly prepare four months in advance for the next semester. But I don't think it will be enough.”
Amid family responsibilities and uncertainty about his educational future, Hernan fears he won’t have the money to complete his education.
“I'm at the point where I’ve been doing [my degree] for six years. I don’t know how long I can keep doing this, going to school and studying,” he said.
The TRUMP Act has angered immigrant advocates.
“Florida lawmakers should strengthen our state’s future by keeping our current tuition fairness law for Dreamers in place,” said Gaby Pacheco, president and CEO of TheDream.US, which offers scholarships to undocumented students who are not able to afford college. She, too, was a Dreamer before becoming a U.S. citizen.
Hernan is resting his hopes on President Trump’s remarks about allowing Dreamers to remain in the country. Trump told NBC’s Meet the Press in December that Republicans should be "very open to [helping] the Dreamers."
“I keep hearing rumors that he wants to help us, but some say that he doesn’t,” he said of Trump. “But if he has a heart and he looks into our cases, then he should know that we are the future and we deserve to stay.”
