PantherNOW Editorial Board
Once a gateway to global education, FIU’s international spirit is diminishing due to a series of state and federal policies closing the door on students and faculty worldwide.
Last year, a federal judge upheld the Trump administration’s authority to increase the H-1B visa fee from $250 to a dramatic $100,000 for employers sponsoring foreign workers, including Florida’s public universities. This not only harms Florida’s economy but also FIU, the nation’s largest Hispanic-serving university.
According to the Miami Herald, Florida universities employed 2,589 H-1B visa holders in educational services last year, with FIU having 111 of those workers.
While only a handful of employers sponsor student visa holders, this fee increase makes it more difficult for international students to secure employment after graduation.
During the same year, Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed the Board of Governors to end H-1B visas’ hiring at Florida state universities altogether.
Alongside DeSantis, Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback proposed tuition for foreign students to $1 million and ending H-1B visas.
FIU currently enrolls 4,507 international students, and these combined policies restrict faculty hiring and threaten FIU’s ability to attract and retain international staff and students.
The challenges go beyond federal policies. FIU has also implemented tuition hikes of 10 in the fall to 15% again in the spring for international and out-of-state students within a single year.
This extreme stance against international students is nothing new, but it reflects the ongoing political climate in Florida, where the state would rather create significant financial barriers than embrace a diverse population.
Florida is already experiencing significant “brain drain” among state academia due to draconian policies such as “post-tenure” review. Why make it worse by being a bunch of cultural Luddites?
Moreover, it has been a year since FIU agreed to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide police training to FIUPD on campus.
And despite student faculty concerns regarding ICE on campus, the university continues to emphasize its partnership with federal and state policies over the concerns of those the university is designed to serve.
International students can now be deported or have their visas revoked for minor traffic infractions, creating an atmosphere of fear, even if these stories haven’t hit FIU quite yet.
The resulting quasi-surveillance state signals a complete admonishment of the “International” in Florida International University, all due to Tallahassee’s meddling.
We must push FIU leadership to oppose restrictive visa policies, reconsider tuition hikes targeting international students, and end cooperation with ICE on campus.
Protecting our international community is an obligation, not a choice.
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