In a dramatic policy shift, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has moved to ban the use of H-1B visas at state universities, signaling a tougher stance on the employment of foreign skilled workers in public institutions. The decision marks one of the most aggressive state-level actions yet against a federal visa program widely used to hire international talent in academia and research.
“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!” DeSantis said at a press conference at the University of South Florida in Tampa on Wednesday.
Expanding on his announcement, DeSantis claimed that state-led audits of the H-1B visa program uncovered instances where Florida universities allegedly brought in individuals from China on work visas to speak with students about public policy and other sensitive topics.
DeSantis suggested that such practices raised security and ideological concerns, arguing that taxpayer-funded institutions should not rely on foreign nationals for roles that could influence academic or political discussions.
“Why do we need to bring someone from CHINA to talk about public policy?!”
“I am directing today the Florida Board of Governors to PULL THE PLUG on the use of these H-1B visas at our universities,” DeSantis said.
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“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. 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,” an official statement quoted him as saying.
In the press conference, DeSantis said the decision was aimed at ensuring that residents of Florida are “first in line for job opportunities.”
He emphasized that public universities across the state must prioritize hiring qualified local applicants over international workers brought in through the H-1B visa program, which he described as a system that “too often displaces American talent.”
The governor reiterated that the new directive would make Florida’s higher education institutions more accountable to taxpayers while reinforcing his administration’s broader push to favor local employment in state-funded roles.
DeSantis said the state’s internal review revealed that several universities had hired H-1B visa holders across various departments including assistant professors, program coordinators, data analysts, and even staff working in athletics and communications. He questioned the necessity of using the visa program for such roles, suggesting that many of these positions could be filled by qualified Floridians.
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The governor argued that the findings raise doubts about whether the H-1B program is being applied as intended, saying the state should not depend on foreign workers for jobs that don’t require rare or highly specialized expertise.
“Why are we bringing people in to assess our accreditation on an H-1B visa? We can’t do that with our own people?” DeSantis questioned during his remarks, describing the practice as a form of “cheap labor” and urging university administrators to take a hard look at their recruitment policies.
According to the governor, the state’s review identified H-1B employees from a range of countries including China, Spain, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Albania working across Florida’s public universities.
He pointed to examples such as a bio-analytical core director, a psychologist, a communications manager, and a coastal research specialist, arguing that many of these roles should be filled by qualified local candidates instead.
In a post on X, DeSantis stated, “Florida leads the nation in higher education, and thousands of highly qualified Americans graduate from our colleges and universities every year. If any universities are truly struggling to find U.S. citizens to fill their job openings, they ought to evaluate their academic programs to determine why they cannot produce graduates who can be hired for these positions.”
DeSantis has been one of the prominent Republican officials to criticize the H-1B program in recent months.
In August, he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that H-1B was a “total scam” and companies were “game the system.”
He said, “[You] have some of these companies that are laying off large numbers of Americans while they’re also getting new H1B’s and renewing H1B’s. And a lot of times people used to say, “Well, you know we’re getting the cream the crop from all around the world.” The reality is that’s not actually what H1B’s are. Most of them are from … from one country, India. There’s a cottage industry about how all that people make money off this system.”
(This post has been updated.)