Universities around the nation have been urging President Trump to protect the nearly 700,000 young immigrants protected under DACA who may soon face deportation, and the California State University’s board of trustees passed a resolution Wednesday calling for the school and its community to advocate in support of these young people.
President Trump announced in September that he would be ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program which granted deportation protection to immigrants who arrived to the country as a child. The resolution passed Wednesday calls upon the CSU trustees, chancellor, presidents and other university officials to urge representatives, senators and the President to find a long-term solution for these immigrants.
The CSU system has 8,300 so-called “Dreamers,” the name commonly used to refer to DACA eligible immigrants for the Dream Act. which many politicians believe is the legislative answer to establishing a permanent solution to the matter.
The resolution passed Wednesday reads, “at the CSU, we see firsthand every day the exceptional contributions that Dreamer students and alumni make to our state and to our nation. Most are the first in their family to attend college and they work hard to further their educations. Many serve as campus leaders and have ambitious goals centered on improving the lives of others across their communities.” The resolution goes on to say that staff members have also benefited from DACA protection.
The Trump administration has begun the wind down process for DACA and if nothing happens before March 2018, the protected Dreamers will lose their deportation protection and their ability to legally work in the country.
Photo above by Jackie Ramírez
