President Peter Salovey has urged President Donald Trump to maintain the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“A decision to maintain DACA will allow Congress time to act on legislation to establish a legal pathway to citizenship for Dreamers,” Salovey wrote in a letter to the White House. “It will provide a level of security for the Dreamers who trusted the government’s promise that they would be shielded from deportation if they self-identified, registered with federal law enforcement agencies, and passed an extensive background investigation.”
Last December, Salovey announced support for the proposed BRIDGE Act, which would provide “provisional protected status” to undocumented students who were brought to the United States as children.
A number of media outlets have reported recently that the Trump Administration is considering whether to rescind DACA. A group of state attorneys general has urged the White House to rescind the DACA program, and said they would file a legal challenge if DACA was still in place on September 5.
Yale applies its admission and financial aid policies without regard to citizenship or immigration status.
Yale’s Office of International Students & Scholars states on its web page that, “In light of the potential threat to end the DACA program by President Trump, the University will provide resources to help students navigate this extremely difficult and uncertain time, including access to experts, lawyers, and financial support to help any Yale student who faces legal action as a result of any changes in the DACA program.”
While acknowledging that the United States must modernize an immigration system “that most agree is broken,” Salovey wrote, “The Dreamers participating in DACA have embraced the United States as their home, and we should affirm that they have a future in our great country. Doing so is consistent with our longstanding values as a nation of immigrants motivated by the search for a better life.”
