Undocumented Panthers continue fight for tuition equity

Adrian Suarez-Avila/ Staff Writer

Growing up, Francis Tume hated summers as he worked.

The junior international business major, determined not to be held back by circumstances, worked three jobs to gather enough money to pay for the out-of-state tuition fees he was charged as an undocumented student.

“My family and I were never able to go on vacation,” Tume said. “I didn’t get the chance to be like other students and go out to relax. I had to work.”

But in the fall, FIU became Florida’s first public college to offer an out-of-state tuition waiver for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals students.

Despite the doors that have been opened for Tume and other students as a result of the waiver, the battle for tuition equity is still being fought.

“As of right now, there is no legislation toward getting tuition equity for undocumented students in the state of Florida,” said Claudio Galaz, a junior history major and president of Students Working for Equal Rights. “That’s one of the things we’re fighting for.”

“As of right now, there is no legislation toward getting tuition equity for undocumented students in the state of Florida,” said Claudio Galaz.

According to Galaz, although FIU is the only university in the state to offer tuition waivers, it offers them only to students who are eligible for DACA. Those who are ineligible for the program’s benefits must remain paying out-of-state tuition fees.

“It seems rather exclusive to me that these benefits are only for DACA students,” Galaz said.

Although students secured by DACA waive the out-of-state tuition fee, which is three times the cost of in-state tuition, applying for the program still comes at a cost.

In addition to needing to provide valid documentation stating that the student is eligible for the benefits of deferred action, the student must also submit a $465 fee for the application.

SWER hosts DACA clinics, working with pro-bono lawyers at the University’s College of Law to apply for the program, to help students with the process.

As part of the clinic, FIU students were able to apply for DACA without having to worry about the application fee, although other fees, such as those required by the Department of Homeland Security, still apply.

“What SWER is working on is tuition equity for all undocumented students in Florida, not just DACA recipients,” Galaz said. “Tuition equity has been made possible in other 18 states, and that’s what we want to accomplish in Florida.”

The struggle to ensure tuition equity in the state of Florida is one that has been dealt with for years, and a struggle that students and advocates hope to overcome this year, according to Galaz.

Despite the determination possessed by some to secure tuition equity for all undocumented students in the state, others are less optimistic about the undertaking.

“I think that fighting for tuition equity for all undocumented students in the state presents a problem,” said Ediberto Román, professor at the College of Law who advocated for the waiver. “At this junction, I think it will be foolhardy to take on the issue of statewide tuition equity.”

Román cites conflicting state and federal immigration legal issues as difficult aspects that advocates will have to deal with on the road to tuition equity.

Some students have come to terms with this reality.

“We worked all of last year on a federal comprehensive reform, but we got nothing out of that,” Galaz said. “This year we are taking a step back to work just in our state, supporting progressive senators like Dwight Bullard who are working on achieving tuition equity.”

“DACA isn’t a panacea, but it’s certainly a long way from where it was before,” Román said.

Román suggests starting work on a small scale and gradually expanding.

“I commend the legislative representatives who want to pass new tuition equity laws, but I believe it’s best if initiatives are taken to provide in-state tuition for DACA students statewide, and then initiatives to secure tuition equity around the country,” Román said.

But he said there is no room for doubt that progress has been made.

“DACA isn’t a panacea, but it’s certainly a long way from where it was before,” Román said.

– news@fiusm.com