DeSantis told colleges in October to stop using the visa program.
All public universities in Florida will be prohibited from hiring foreign workers on H-1B visas under a policy change that the Florida Board of Governors will consider next week.
Next Thursday, the Board of Regents’ Nominating and Governance Committee will consider adding a line to a policy saying the university cannot “use the H-1B program in its personnel plan to hire any new employees before January 5, 2027.” If the committee and full council approve the addition, there will be a 14-day public comment period.
The proposal was reported earlier politics, This comes after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ordered the state’s public universities to “cease the use of these H-1B visas” in October. Fourteen of the 17 members of the Board of Governors are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate.
DeSantis complained about professors coming from China, “should be Palestine” and other places. “We need to make sure Florida citizens have access to jobs first,” he said.
Last fiscal year, the federal government approved 253 H-1B visa holders to work at the University of Florida, 146 at the University of Miami, about 110 each at Florida State University and the University of South Florida, 47 at the University of Central Florida, and smaller numbers at other public institutions, according to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services database. Universities use the program to hire teachers, physicians and researchers they deem necessary to meet needs in health care, engineering and other fields.
Spokespeople for the Florida State University System and DeSantis did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
The policy revision also states that each university board’s “personnel plans shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.”
