In Letter To Congress, University Presidents Urge Leaders to Prioritize Permanent Protections for DACA Recipients and Dreamers 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 28, 2022

Contact: Diego Sánchez (diego@presidentsalliance.org) 

TODAY: In Letter To Congress, University Presidents Urge Leaders to Prioritize Permanent Protections for DACA Recipients and Dreamers 

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, on behalf of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, the Presidents’ Alliance Steering Committee penned a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging them to pass bipartisan legislation before the end of the year to protect DACA recipients and Dreamers. The letter reads:

“As higher education leaders, we see Dreamers’ immense contributions to our campuses and communities. Many of them have gone on to become highly valued employees, homeowners, military members, faith leaders, and founders of thriving businesses. They inspire us by what they have overcome and the promise they hold to make our communities and nation stronger. These individuals–Americans in every sense but on paper–seek only what we want for all our children: the opportunity to pursue their studies, work in our communities, and meaningfully contribute to our country.” 

Signatories of the letter include the President of Georgetown University, Chancellor of Rutgers University-Newark, President of the University of Texas-San Antonio, President of Eastern Connecticut State University, President of Delaware State University, Chancellor of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, President of Carleton College, President of Utah State University, President of Salt Lake Community College, President of Arizona State University, President of Northern Arizona University, President of University of Nevada-Reno, Chancellor of the University of California-Riverside, President of the Borough of Manhattan Community College, President of Grand Valley State University, President of Westchester Community College, President at University of Albany, President of Illinois Institute of Technology, President of Antioch College, President of Broward College, and President of Guilford College. 

The letter comes as the Presidents’ Alliance and partners kick off an Education Week of Action, with higher education institutions, associations, organizations, immigrant advocates, and community partners joining activities in DC and across the country, both in-person and virtually, to share with Members of Congress and elected leaders the vital importance of DACA recipients and their contributions to university communities, and call on elected leaders in Congress to work together during the lame duck session to pass a permanent legislative solution. 

Without urgent action from Congress, hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients will be at risk of losing their protections, potentially being pushed out of the workplace, and cruelly separated from their families. The time to get this done is now. 

You can read the full letter here.

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The nonpartisan, nonprofit Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration brings college and university presidents and chancellors together on the immigration issues that impact higher education, our students, campuses, communities, and nation. We work to advance just, forward-looking immigration policies and practices at the federal, state, and campus levels that are consistent with our heritage as a nation of immigrants and the academic values of equity and openness. The Alliance is composed of over 550 presidents and chancellors of public and private colleges and universities, enrolling over five million students in 43 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico.