Post-DACA Ruling: While Urging Long Overdue Congressional Action, Here’s What Higher Ed, the Biden Administration, and State Leaders Can Do for Dreamers in Interim

   

For Immediate Release: September 14, 2023
Contact: Jason Koh, jason@presidentsalliance.org

Post-DACA Ruling: While Urging Long Overdue Congressional Action, Here’s What Higher Ed, the Biden Administration, and State Leaders Can Do for Dreamers in Interim

Washington D.C. – Yesterday, Judge Andrew Hanen of the Southern District of Texas once again issued a ruling underscoring the uncertain future of the popular and successful Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This decision, echoing Judge Hanen’s initial ruling in 2021, maintains much of the inadequate status quo – keeping the program’s protections and renewals for current DACA holders while denying first-time applicants access to DACA’s vital safeguards and opportunities.  

In response to this ruling, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration and the TheDream.US, strongly reiterate our call for Congress to build upon DACA’s proven successes to establish a permanent legislative solution that allows Dreamers, with or without DACA, to fully engage in the nation they call home. Yet, even as we await long overdue congressional action, there are other important steps that can and should be taken by higher education leaders and institutions, the Biden administration, and state policymakers. 

Felecia Russell, Director of the Higher Ed Immigration Portal at the Presidents’ Alliance and a DACA recipient, said: 

“I am just one of the many lives transformed by DACA during the past 11 years of its existence. Even if yesterday’s ruling was long expected, it is still disappointing. However, what is imperative right now is that campuses demonstrate their support for the many undocumented students and impacted faculty and staff on their campuses. Two practical and immediate ways to support this community is to issue a statement to the entire campus community, acknowledging the pernicious recent court decision, and emphasizing continued support. Second, gather all institutional, legal and mental health resources to share with your community, one such robust resource can be found on higher ed immigration portal. Finally, please create a safe space for all who are directly affected by the decision.”

According to Diego Sánchez, Director of Policy and Strategy at the Presidents’ Alliance and a former DACA recipient:

“The Biden administration should seek out every opportunity under existing law to strengthen the lives and futures of Dreamers and their ability to work legally and maintain protections from deportations.” (see more in the Presidents’ Alliance’s “Administrative Agenda for Immigration and Higher Education”)

According to Gaby Pacheco, Director of Advocacy, Development, and Communications at TheDream.US and a former DACA recipient:

“The ultimate way forward for Dreamers with and without DACA and the country as a whole remains Congress delivering on the wishes of the strong majority of the American public and enacting an accessible path to citizenship for Dreamers. Yes, it’s a call to action two decades in the making and one that seems almost rote to emphasize given the history of the issue. But we must continue to emphasize that reality. Meanwhile, state policymakers should continue to build on the recent policy successes in states such as Maryland and Massachusetts, and advance licensure, tuition equity, and other policies that empower Dreamers to study, work, and participate more fully in their states while we all call on Congress to do its job and resolve this issue.”

RESOURCES

• Check out the Directory of Resources to Support DACA/Undocumented Students, Dream Legislation, and Institutions of Higher Education
• Learn about the “Undocumented Student Communities of Practice” network and directory for those who work with undocumented students on our Higher Ed Immigration Portal
• Read the report from the Presidents’ Alliance and the American Immigration Council, “Undocumented Students in Higher Education: How Many Students are in U.S. Colleges and Universities, and Who Are They?” 
• Watch the June 9th webinar, “Understanding the Complexities of Border Security and its Impacts on Reaching a Bipartisan Compromise for Dreamers,” and hear from campus leaders, policy experts, and immigration analysts on the impacts of border security and immigration reform on Dreamer legislative priorities in higher ed.
• Read the commentary from Jeanne Batalova at the Migration Policy Institute and Miriam Feldblum at the Presidents’ Alliance, “Investing in the Future: Higher Ed Should Give Greater Focus to Growing Immigrant-Origin Student Population”
• Watch the August 3 webinar, “Achieving Inclusive Excellence: Immigrant-Origin Students Are Key to the Future of U.S. Higher Education”.
• Presidents’ Alliance, “Administrative Agenda for Immigration and Higher Education,” with ten policy actions the Biden Administration can take on immigrant, international, and refugee students.

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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 support undocumented, international and refugee students, and advance forward-looking immigration policies and practices at the federal level, in our states, and across our college campuses. The Alliance is composed of 550+ college and university presidents and chancellors of public and private colleges and universities, enrolling over five million students in 43 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college and career success program for undocumented immigrant students, having provided more than 10,000 college scholarships to Dreamers attending over 80 partner colleges in 21 states and Washington, DC. We believe everyone, regardless of where they were born, should have equitable access to a college education, a meaningful career, and opportunities to contribute to the communities they call home. For more information on TheDream.US, visit www.thedream.us