Undocumented students in Florida to receive in-state tuition rates

On Monday, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a historic piece of legislation which extends in-state college tuition rates to students who are children of illegal immigrants. Scott, a republican, ran for governor on an anti-immigrant platform four years ago and pledged to help curb illegal immigration once elected.

According to Reuters, previous attempts to grant in-state tuition rates to undocumented students at Florida public institutions of higher learning had been thwarted by Republicans. Scott's dramatic turnaround is thought to be an attempt by the GOP to cater to the crucial Hispanic vote in an election year.

Though he had previously opposed the idea, Scott has decided to spin this development as a way to make tuition costs fair for all Florida-born students.

Scott stated in a news release: "signing this historic legislation today will keep tuition low, and allow all students who grew up in Florida to have the same access to affordable higher education."

In-state tuition amounts to nearly one-fourth the rate non-Floridian students can expect to pay, and the new law will only apply to those students who have been enrolled in a Florida college or university for at least three years.

The approval of this measure coincided with the launch of Scott's "college affordability tour" which will see the governor visit the state's largest cities in an attempt to show his constituents how much he differs from the leading oppositional candidate, Charlie Crist.

Both sides in this race have already begun public efforts to spin the other side as being out of touch with the needs of students. Florida Republicans released a statement attacking Crist, a Democrat, for presiding over policies which allowed state institutions to increase tuition by 15 percent each year Crist  has served in office. Meanwhile, Crist's office praised the governor's new legislation but also labeled the new tuition breaks for undocumented students as nothing more than political posturing.

Scott's change in stance on this issue is all the more surprising considering that in the 2010 race he pledged to copy Arizona's controversial anti-immigrant law which requires people to show proof of citizenship to law enforcement officials at the officers' discretion. The governor also previously vetoed legislation intended to provide drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants with stayed deportation orders.

Florida is not the first state to pass such a bill. In fact, 17 other states have similar laws providing undocumented students with in-state tuition rates.

Historically, Florida Republicans have been able to rely on the Cuban-American vote, however, according to Reuters, a poll conducted this March by Quinnipiac University revealed Crist is currently leading Scott among Hispanic voters.