The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, is on the fringe in Washington.
President Donald Trump announced Sept. 5 of his plans to defund the Obama administrations program, which currently allows young illegal immigrants to live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation.
Now, nearly 800,000 young Americans are at the mercy of a divided Congress. On Thursday, Trump stated (via Twitter) that no deal was made last night on DACA. But fear not; his plans to build a massive border wall between the U.S. and Mexico are coming along marvelously.
Not only is this decision politically aggravating, its morally unsound and economically ill-advised. DREAMers (those protected by DACA) pay taxes and take jobs most Americans dont want, according to a CNN report. Theyre also human beings.
Bradley President Gary Roberts sent out an email Sept. 8 in response to Trumps announcement.
Unless under a court order, Bradley would not assist with any effort by federal officials to identify or to deport any of our students, DACA certified or otherwise, the email stated.
This is a comforting statement and its similar to those many university officials across the country are releasing.
But it is also very calculated. The Scout couldnt help but notice the number of disclaimers in Roberts email: We do not have any official records of whether any DACA students are enrolled here… Unless under a court order… Bradley will undertake all reasonable steps…
Shouldnt Roberts have addressed this issue in person perhaps by scheduling a press conference? He might as well have just Tweeted about it instead.
University officials havent suggested a plan to do anything more regarding the issue unless Congress acts on it in the next six months. But we would like to see some more immediate action. One student told The Scout (see DACA repeal concerns Bradley students, page A3) that she felt her professors were uninformed about DACA. Thats a good place to start.
Organize forums. Teach professors, administrators and students what DACA is all about, and how a change could affect those 800,000 DREAMers.
It is not enough to send an email to the student body that simply says, Educate yourselves. It is the responsibility of the university to educate its students.
