Florida Board of Governors Bars Illegal Immigrants From Enrollment at Select Public Universities

Florida’s Board of Governors unanimously approved a rule Sept. 3 that will bar illegal immigrants from initially enrolling at certain public universities beginning with the 2027-28 academic year.

The amended admissions regulation applies to state universities that, during the previous two academic years, did not admit all academically qualified applicants because of limited capacity. The rule states that “a person who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible for initial enrollment” at those institutions.

The Board of Governors oversees Florida’s 12 public universities and held its Sept. 2-3 meeting at Florida Gulf Coast University.

The restriction does not amount to a blanket enrollment ban at every public university. Under the regulation, it applies specifically to universities that failed to admit all academically qualified applicants during the two preceding academic years, except when applicants were denied for nonacademic reasons.

Students already enrolled are not covered by the restriction on “initial enrollment.”