Hire Americans first: Florida Governor DeSantis ends H-1B hiring in state colleges

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis bans H-1B visas at state universities, ordering institutions to hire Americans instead of foreign workers, citing visa abuse and prioritising local graduates for taxpayer-funded jobs.

In a bombshell directive shaking up higher education, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday announced that state universities will no longer be allowed to hire foreign workers on H-1B visas, ordering institutions to prioritise American citizens and Florida residents for all university positions.

“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,” DeSantis declared. “We will not tolerate H-1B abuse in Florida institutions. That’s why I have directed the Florida Board of Governors to end this practice.”

DeSantis said the decision followed H-1B audits that revealed state colleges had hired people from China and other countries for university roles — including as professors and policy speakers.

“Why do we need to bring someone from China to talk about public policy?!” the governor asked pointedly. “We can do it with Florida residents or Americans! If we can’t? Then man, we need to really look deeply at what’s going on with this situation.”

The governor emphasized that Florida leads the nation in higher education, producing thousands of qualified graduates every year. “If any universities are truly struggling to find US citizens to fill their job openings, they ought to evaluate their academic programmes to determine why they cannot produce graduates who can be hired for these positions,” he said.

According to a statement from the Governor’s Office, the Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is partnering with federal authorities and the State University System to ensure compliance. The move also includes cancelling or repurposing millions in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related grants that were diverting funds away from core education priorities.

The statement noted that universities are exempt from federal H-1B visa caps, allowing them to hire foreign workers year-round. “H-1B visas are allegedly intended to hire individuals for a speciality occupation, but many universities and institutions have hired foreign workers for jobs that could easily be filled by qualified Americans,” the governor’s office said.

DeSantis listed several examples of such positions — including computer application coordinators, assistant professors, and even an assistant swim coach from Spain.

“Especially when you see in the news all these people being laid off by Amazon, UPS, all these companies — we need to make sure our citizens here in Florida are first in line for job opportunities,” he said.

Florida, he added, will now require all taxpayer-funded universities to “serve the American workforce, not to be used to import cheap foreign labor.”

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With inputs from PTI