Opinion piece from our President and CEO Julio Fuentes.
Now more than ever, Florida businesses need educated, skilled workers to supplement our workforce. Recent findings show that there are just 50 available workers in our state for every 100 open jobs – shortages are severe, and lawmakers must do everything they can to remedy this growing challenge.
The solution can be found in our young people, as they are the future of our state’s economic and workforce vitality. This is especially true for Florida’s undocumented immigrants, particularly Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. They are a group that has proven themselves to have a distinct passion for success and a strong desire to receive a quality college education – but unfortunately, their ability to achieve those things is under threat.
It is anticipated that there could be legislation in Florida that would limit access to in-state tuition for our undocumented immigrants. This creates a massive barrier for the 40,000 Florida undocumented immigrants enrolled in our higher education systems, as the prohibitive cost of out-of-state tuition can be too much of a financial burden for them to bear. Unfortunately, when students cannot afford to get a college education, we are all losing out on their future workforce and economic contributions in a big way.
Stifling the ambitions of young undocumented immigrants in our state is short-sighted and will have negative implications on Florida’s ability to retain a skilled workforce in the future. These immigrants want to achieve greatness while also helping all of us to achieve greatness in America, and our lawmakers must not allow yet another hurdle to stand in the way of our economic success in Florida. Tuition equity is the solution, and lawmakers must not eliminate it.
Young undocumented immigrants in Florida have been living, working, and contributing to our state for most of their lives – particularly the DACA population in our state who have lived here for an average of 20 years. They have been vital to our communities, constantly supplying us with cultural and fiscal contributions.
By remaining in Florida, these individuals are also paying millions in taxes and supporting our entire economic infrastructure through their hard work and patronage of our businesses. Immigrants in our state generate an estimated $138 billion in total spending power and pay $40 billion in taxes each year. Without them, our state would not be as prosperous as it is today.
The doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs, construction workers, and scientists of tomorrow exist in this aspiring and motivated population. By diminishing their opportunity to achieve an education and join our workforce, Florida’s Legislature would be halting their potential and setting our workforce and economy up for failure.
There is a reason that lawmakers in Florida on both sides of the aisle have enabled tuition equity for Dreamers for the past nine years. The 2014 policy signed by former Florida Governor and current Senator Rick Scott has allowed thousands of young immigrants the chance to make Florida better, and it should remain in place. According to Senator Scott, it’s a bill he would sign again today.
I encourage Florida’s lawmakers to consider the economic implications that come with proposed anti-immigrant policies this legislative session, and I hope to see limits on in-state tuition access for undocumented immigrants remain off the table.
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