FGCU among Florida schools closing doors to undocumented students in 2027 | State

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—The Florida Board of Governors voted at FGCU to ban students without legal immigration status from attending any state university.

About 8,000 students without legal status graduate from Florida high schools every year, according to a report from the President’s Alliance of Higher Education and Immigration. The new rule will bar undocumented students from enrolling at all 12 of Florida’s public universities, including FGCU.

“I think that it’s unfair for getting the education privileges get taken away because of someone’s legal status in this country,” said Brayan Delfines, a Venezuelan student here through Temporary Protection Status.

Delfines said this issue hits close to home.

“Right now, I’m in a kind of like a very crappy situation with my family right now because we cannot travel out of the country just yet because of our legal status,” Delfines said. “We’re kind of on a waiting list right now.”

Not every student WINK News spoke with opposes the restriction.

“I think if you come here properly and you do it the right way, you’ll get your fair shot,” said Brooklyn Perkins, an FGCU student.

Perkins is also an immigrant. She said she came here legally and understands why others want the same opportunities.

“It would be such an unfortunate situation for you to come here, not properly attend university, then get pulled out of university, or you know, finish university, get the job you really want, and then are sent back to your home country,” Perkins said.

The Florida Board of Governors approved the restriction unanimously at FGCU. The Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar opposes the move.

The association argues Florida could lose students it has already educated and future workers the state needs.

“These are students who have had their whole life essentially here in Florida. They want to go to college. They can’t anymore,” Spar said. “So where does that leave them? Where do they go from here? Do they go to another state?”

The new rule applies to all 12 public universities across Florida. It comes just months after a similar move affecting the state’s public colleges, including FSW.

The new restriction takes effect for the 2027-28 academic year, making Florida the largest state in the nation to close publicly funded higher education to undocumented students. Right now Florida’s K-12 schools enroll the third-most students without legal status.