When you ask Hernan what his future looks like, he envisions himself in a hard hat, leading a group of construction workers on a major project.
Hernan is a participant in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. He's asked WUSF not to use his last name because he fears being targeted for his immigration status.
He's had this dream since he was young, nurtured by family members who work in construction and landscaping.
"When I get (closer) to my graduation, I'm going to apply for any company. Whatever comes to me, I'll go there and give it a shot," Hernan said.
He needs to pass nine more classes to earn his Bachelors in Construction Management at Seminole State College. But a law that is scheduled to go into effect later this year is about to make Hernan's dream much harder to achieve.
The state is getting rid of a tuition waiver offered to students without legal immigration status, who are widely known as "Dreamers."
They were brought to the U.S. illegally by family as young children,some of whom are protected from deportation by the Obama-era DACA policy.
For the last ten years, the waiver allowed those students to pay the in-state tuition rate at Florida public colleges and universities like their U.S. citizen peers, as long as they proved they went to a state high school for three consecutive years and applied for college within 24 months of graduation.
When lawmakers created the waiver a decade ago, they said it was fair to give students, regardless of their immigration status, an affordable chance at higher education. Florida was among a number of states that had these "tuition equity" laws in place.
ALSO READ: Dreamers say eliminating in-state tuition waivers would make college an impossible goal
But attitudes have changed.
Efforts to repeal the tuition waiver have arisen in the last several years, although unsuccessfully. But this year, Florida legislators repealed the tuition benefit as part of a sweeping bill that they said is meant to work hand-in-hand with the Trump administration in curbing illegal immigration.
During a committee hearing in January, former state Sen. Randy Fine, who is now serving in the U.S. Congress, said it was "immoral to charge people who shouldn't even be in the country a vastly discounted price."
Fine said it was unfair that U.S. citizens who live out-of -state would have to pay three times as much in tuition compared to "an illegal immigrant who lives in Florida."
"It's not right to give foreigners a better deal than Americans," Fine said.
Other Republican lawmakers, including Lawrence McClure, who represents the Plant City area, said that they were "simply trying to remove incentives for people coming to this country and state illegally."
More states are considering following in Florida's footsteps, according to Inside Higher Ed.
President Donald Trump also recently signed an executive order that seeks to crack down on states that offer in-state tuition to students without legal presence.
Florida is home
Hernan was brought to the U.S. by his mother from the southernmost state of Mexico, Chiapas, when he was about three years old. He said their conversations about her decision are few and far between, but he knows that life was tough there and that his mother wanted a better life for him.
"I grew up here so young," said Hernan. "I didn't feel like an immigrant, you know, I felt like this was my home."
He didn't realize that how he came to the U.S. mattered until his senior year of high school. Hernan remembers one of his teachers telling him he couldn't apply for financial aid.
"I felt more awake," he said, "Like, I'm not from here, so if I want to keep getting a higher education, I have to change things."
After graduating high school, Hernan applied for the DACA program. That gave him temporary protection from deportation as long as the program is in place, as well as other crucial benefits, like the authorization to work and obtain a driver's license in a U.S.
But he still wasn't eligible for financial assistance like FAFSA or Pell Grants, or even state aid, like Florida's Bright Futures Scholarships. When he found out that there was a tuition waiver for students like him, he felt relieved.
"It's kind of a sad feeling, because you're leaving an environment that you're used to. You're leaving the friends that you've made, and you're also leaving professors that you have a connection with.”
Hernan said he was able to pay for the rest of his tuition through a private scholarship and income earned from his landscaping job.
Without the waiver, though, he's expecting his tuition to triple. A four-credit class would jump from $500 to $1,500.
"It hurts me in the sense that it delays my education," he said.
He's considering taking out loans or looking for more private scholarships. He said he might even take a year off to work full-time and save up.
"I just got to adapt to the changes, you know, in current society," Hernan said.
Jose Carrera, a junior at the University of Central Florida, is also having to pivot. Carrera is in the U.S. without legal documentation.
He's studying biomedical sciences and planned to go to graduate school to become a physician's assistant. Carrera said he chose this path when his dad caught COVID-19 and was hospitalized.
"He doesn't speak English, so I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to communicate with the medical professionals," he said. "I want to be able to help patients that need translation for them to get the proper care."
But recently, Carrera received an email from UCF, telling him that he needed to provide proof of "lawful presence," in order to continue using the in-state tuition waiver.
"I was shocked at first, because…I had planned out the rest of my semesters already," said Carrera. "So I was like, 'damn, they just won't allow me to continue my studies.'"
Carrera is looking at a nearly $9,000 increase to his tuition each semester. He's receiving a private scholarship, but he said the organization won't be able to close the gap, so he's looking at private institutions and online programs that might be more affordable or more willing to cover the cost of his studies.
In his three years at UCF, Carrera said he's found a home that he's reluctant to part from.
"It's kind of a sad feeling, because you're leaving an environment that you're used to. You're leaving the friends that you've made, and you're also leaving professors that you have a connection with."
How many students could be affected?
More than 6,500 students are using what's called the non-resident tuition waiver, according to the State University System of Florida and the Florida College System.
To be clear, not all students using the waiver are immigrants without legal status. For example, some students are unable to prove their legal status because they're estranged from their parents, according to a 2014 bill analysis.
There is no federal law that requires colleges or universities to ask students about their immigration status, so most institutions do not have a clear number on how many of their students are considered undocumented.
When asked to comment on how the new law would affect enrollment, officials with the University of South Florida said it's "unclear how many students may be impacted, as current recipients may still lawfully qualify for the waiver if proper documentation for eligibility is provided."
University of Central Florida representatives told WUSF that it is "still reviewing students' eligibility and the impact" of the waiver, and that they are "committed to supporting students, including external scholarship opportunities as well as UCF payment plans for students who do not receive any form of financial aid."
According to the State University System of Florida, about 310 students at UCF and 155 students at USF use the waiver.
Seminole State College said that fewer than 20 students use the waiver — "some of whom could be undocumented students," so effects on enrollment are "unlikely."
The Florida Policy Institute (FPI), a left-leaning think tank, calculated that the 6,500 students using the waiver paid about $26.7 million in in-state tuition and fees to Florida's colleges and universities.
Most of those students — about 4,500 — attend the state's community colleges, which accepts people on an open enrollment basis. They contributed about $15 million annually, according to FPI.
Holly Bullard, the chief strategy and development officer at FPI said it's unlikely that other students will be able to completely replace the tuition dollars lost if those using the waiver were locked out of community college.
Read more about the estimated economic impacts
A dream deferred
An alumnus of the University of South Florida who goes by his middle initial "J." called his college education "transformative."
J. is applying to become a permanent legal resident. He does not have legal status to be in the country, so he's asked WUSF to withhold his full name.
A recipient of the tuition waiver, J. majored in history and now works at an organization that studies the spread of misinformation.
"Higher education changed absolutely everything for me. It changed my perspective on the issues that we face in the world, my ability to understand how to build a financial future for myself, and it taught me how to negotiate a job offer," he said.
J. argued that getting rid of the waiver isn't the solution politicians think it is for illegal immigration.
"I don't believe that there is a parent whose child goes to bed hungry in Venezuela that is thinking, 'I'm going to make my way to Florida because there's an in-state tuition benefit that my child will access,'" he said. "The waiver is just an opportunity to be treated equally to your fellow peers that have graduated from a Florida high school."
For his part, Hernan said he's trying to stay positive. He's scheduled an appointment with his college advisor, so that they can talk about what options he has to complete his degree.
In the hallway of Seminole State College, he stared at photos of alumni hanging on the walls — people who have gone on to design hospitals, restaurants and university buildings all over the country.
"Maybe one day I'll be up there too," Hernan said with a laugh, before he let out a sigh.
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