Yale and other schools file amicus brief on legality of rescinding DACA
Yale has joined 16 other universities and colleges in filing an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief in a case before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals addressing the legality of the September 2017 action of the Department of Homeland Security rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program.
The case was initially filed in the federal district court for the Eastern District of New York and is one of several across the county contesting the DACA rescission. Yale also joined in the amicus briefs in the cases filed in California and the District of Columbia.
In their brief, Yale and the other schools state that they share a mission to educate the next generation of leaders with the talent, creativity, and drive to solve society’s most pressing problems. In pursuing that common mission, the schools have admitted undocumented students who benefitted from the protections and opportunities provided through DACA.
“Like their classmates, these young people were valedictorians, student government leaders, varsity athletes, inventors, academic award winners, accomplished artists, and role models for younger children in their communities,” the amici (schools filing the brief) note.
Through DACA — which protects participants against near-term deportation, allows them to work lawfully, and enables them to travel abroad — these students have been able for the first time to access educational and life opportunities on nearly equal terms with their peers.
“The September Memorandum rescinding DACA deters young people from pursuing higher education and precludes the remarkable students enrolled at amici institutions from deriving the full benefit of their time on our campuses,” the brief states.
Not only does the government’s action threaten amici’s ability to attract and educate the most talented individuals and undermines their educational missions, the brief explains, but it also “deprives the United States of the benefit of DACA students’ considerable talents.”
