AACC supports DACA participants. Join us by signing on to the letter below.
Dear United States Congress:
We write as the institutional leaders of America’s community colleges – large and small; urban, suburban and rural; and with widely varying student populations and programs. But each and every community college is dedicated to the proposition that accessible, high-quality college education should be available to all those who aspire to it.
The president’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has created turmoil and anxiety on community college campuses across the country. The president’s action gives Congress the enormous responsibility of acting quickly and definitively to ensure that DACA-covered students can continue to concentrate on their studies without fear of deportation or other disruptions.
Now is the time to enact The Dream Act, or something similar, to help thousands of DACA recipients pursue and achieve their dreams of a higher education. For many DACA recipients, the U.S. has been the only place they’ve ever called home. They must meet stringent requirements to qualify for the program. With the DACA work authorization, recipients are making enormous economic, social, and civic contributions. They should be encouraged to stay in our country, not face deportation.
As leaders in our local communities, we hope that a bipartisan solution on this compelling issue can be reached quickly. We stand ready to provide any support needed to achieve this. Our students deserve nothing less.
Sincerely,
Walter G. Bumphus, Ph.D.
President and CEO
On behalf of: