For Immediate Release: March 13, 2025
Contact: Michael Earls at [email protected]
Read the op-ed here as Florida lawmakers enact and propose harmful measures to restrict higher ed access and affordability
Washington, DC – Today, in a new op-ed in the Tallahassee Democrat, longtime Miami resident and President & CEO of TheDream.US Gaby Pacheco highlights why Florida’s enacted and proposed efforts to restrict Dreamers’ higher education represent, “a short-sighted step backwards for Florida’s future.”
Following Florida’s recent repeal of the law that provided in-state tuition access for Dreamers, state lawmakers are now considering an outright ban on state Dreamers’ enrollment in most public colleges and universities.
As Pacheco describes in her op-ed, the proposed and enacted restrictions for Dreamers’ opportunities come as TheDream.US – the nation’s largest college access and career program for Dreamers – released a landmark ten year impact report, underscoring the contributions and broader benefits of empowering Dreamers’ higher education and career opportunities.
Find Gaby Pacheco’s full Tallahassee Democrat op-ed, “Why Florida Dreamers’ higher education opportunities strengthen our state” and key excerpts below:
“There is not a single Floridian harmed by helping Dreamers afford and attend college. PolitiFact assessed the claim that in-state tuition ‘costs’ Florida millions, calling it ‘mostly false’ and noting that repealing it will ‘likely cause colleges and universities to lose revenue’ at a time of declining enrollment.”
“Far from harming Florida, policies empowering Dreamers’ education help the state. Last year alone, more than 6,500 Dreamers paid $26.7 million in tuition, without access to federal financial aid or Florida’s Bright Futures scholarships.”
…“Restricting Dreamers’ higher ed and career opportunities marks an end to what was a bipartisan point of consensus, even pride. It even seems at odds with the comments of Donald Trump, who said in December, ‘We have to do something about Dreamers … In many cases they’ve become successful. They have great jobs. Some of them are running small businesses… we’re going to have to do something with them.’”
…“Recently, my organization released a landmark 10-year impact report, documenting our first decade of supporting Dreamers’ higher education and career success. Through both stories and statistics, the more than 11,000 TheDream.US Scholars and Alumni offer a compelling, large-scale case for why maintaining educational and career opportunities for Dreamers is good for all of us.”
“…Making it harder for Dreamers to afford and attend college is self-defeating for Florida, moving our state in the wrong direction.”
About TheDream.US
TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college and career success program for undocumented immigrant students, having provided more than 11,000 college scholarships to Dreamers attending close to 80 partner colleges in 20 states and Washington, DC. We believe everyone, regardless of where they were born, should have equitable access to a college education, a meaningful career, and opportunities to contribute to the communities they call home. For more information on TheDream.US, visit www.thedream.us.
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