TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – Governor Ron DeSantis directed the Florida Board of Governors on Wednesday to ban H-1B visa holders from working at public universities, saying the state should prioritize American workers over foreign employees.
During a news conference in Tampa, DeSantis announced he wants Florida to be among the first states to eliminate the visa program at state universities, calling it “cheap labor” that takes jobs from qualified Americans.
“This is basically, in some respects, cheap labor,” DeSantis said. “To me, of all employers, they are the ones that would be most responsible for why they can’t find what they need. We are churning out a lot of people. This should not be that difficult.”
A state audit found Florida universities have filled dozens of positions under the H-1B program, ranging from IT specialists and graphic designers to teachers and athletic coaches.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data shows the University of Florida employs 156 people on H-1B visas, the most in the state university system.
H-1B visas were created in 1990 to allow companies to hire workers with specialized skills that are difficult to find domestically. The three-year visas are designed for temporary workers, not permanent residents. According to Pew Research, most H-1B holders work in computer-related fields, with only 6 percent in education.
Robert Cassenello, president of the United Faculty of Florida, criticized the governor’s directive as another attack on university autonomy.
“This is just one of many attacks on the autonomy of our colleges and universities in Florida,” Cassenello said. “Sometimes the best candidate in the pool is the candidate who got their degree and lives outside the country. If you’re directing a program, you want to hire the best person that’s in that program.”
University of Florida Interim President Donald Landry said the issue is complicated, especially considering the state’s 30,000 international students.
“We educate them like we do everybody else,” Landry said. “Occasionally, some bright light might be good enough for the faculty, and then we will try to retain the person into whom we’ve invested so much.”
DeSantis also announced that Florida DOGE has partnered with Federal DOGE to cancel or repurpose more than $33 million in diversity, equity and inclusion grants at state universities.
Several grants were cancelled for non-compliance with state and federal law. The state repurposed other grants to focus on financial background rather than race or ethnicity. Florida DOGE identified an additional $10.6 million in grants within the Florida College System to repurpose or cancel,
The directive comes about a month after the Trump Administration imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas.
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