The State Department under Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked student visas at the University of Florida, and a local furniture store owner is concerned about tariff's impacts on prices.

Rubio revokes student visas in Florida

President Donald Trump’s administration is also stepping up deportations on college campuses.

Hundreds of students, including some in Florida, are getting caught up as the administration expands its visa crackdown.

It started with those who took part in pro-Palestinian protests, and now international students are seeing their visas revoked as colleges check databases to find out if students are still allowed in the country.

The U.S. State Department has revoked the visas of more than 520 students, faculty, and researchers since Trump took office.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says student visas are a privilege, not a right.

“If you come to this country as a student, we expect you to go to class and study and get a degree. If you come here to, like, vandalize the library, take over a campus, and do all kinds of crazy things, you know, we’re going to get rid of these people and we’re gonna continue to do it. So when we identify lunatics like these, we take away their student visa. No one’s entitled to a student visa,” he said.

Earlier this week, we saw a protest on the campus of the University of Florida Gainesville over the deportation of one international student there.

The 27-year-old was deported to Colombia after he was arrested for driving on a suspended license and having an illegal license plate.

The school’s “Independent Alligator” newspaper reported yesterday that four Gator students have had their visas revoked.

Local furniture store anticipates price increases soon with items from China

President Trump is doubling down on tariffs for goods imported from China, something that some business owners in Central Florida say will lead to higher prices in the future.

According to the U.S. Office of Technology Evaluation in 2022, China is a major source of imports to the U.S. for bedding, lamps, toys, sports equipment and furniture. Nearly 50% of all those products that are here in the country come from China.

With tariffs getting ready to hit the goods coming from China, a local furniture store in Casselberry says it will change their bottom line.

The Orlando Furniture Outlet is a family owned and operated business. Co-owner Juan Parra said about 60% of what is in his family’s store comes from China.

“Some of the stuff we currently have is going to go up for sure,” Parra said. “For some of them, we are going to see what will happen in about six months.”

Parra said chairs, bedroom sets, couches, and dining room sets will all go up in price. He expects at least 25% increases on those items from China. 

If and when those increases begin to take place, costs will unfortunately be passed down to customers.

“Believe the customer is going to take all the burden,” Parra said. “If the prices go up, there’s nothing we can really do about it.”

And this is a giant concern of small businesses like Orlando Furniture Outlet. Will the prices go up so high that business will come down is a question they are now contemplating.

Currently, Orlando Furniture Outlet has about two months of product already on hand. They also admit they are not in a position to bulk order ahead of the potential price hikes. As for any pricing impacts seen already, Juan says recliners have gone up 8% in just the past few weeks.

According to the store owner, they also report their suppliers are telling him they have seen less and less inventory come in from China on recent cargo ships. They also anticipate prices on all other items going up in the next 30-45 days that are made in China.