Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, is urging the state's universities to stop hiring international employees through the H-1B visa program. DeSantis said he wants the Florida board of governors to pull the plug on the practice. Nearly 400 foreign nationals are currently employed at Florida's public universities under the H-1B visa program, reported the Orlando Sentinel. Universities across the country are importing foreign workers on H-1B visas instead of hiring Americans who are qualified and available to do the job, said DeSantis in a statement.
Pensacola State College is the latest Florida institution to sign an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to allow its campus police department to enforce immigration laws, following the lead of more than a dozen other public institutions across the state. The agreement is still pending, according to an ICE database. So far, Florida is the only state in the country where colleges and universities have signed agreements with ICE.
Lake-Sumter State College named GOP lawmaker John R. Temple as its president Thursday, making him the latest politician to helm a state institution, the Orlando Business Journal reported. Temple, an ally of Republican governor Ron DeSantis, breaks with many of his fellow politicians who have become college presidents in that he does have administrative experience in higher education. Temple was hired as the college's associate vice president for workforce in 2023. Previously he was a teacher and administrator in K-12 schools.