Mountain View College (Photo by Rasy Ran)
The Dallas County Community College District took a stand for undocumented immigrants Tuesday.
Following the U.S Attorney General’s announcement that President Donald Trump would end the program that allows work permits for some immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, the community college system’s chancellor tried to reassure undocumented students.
Chancellor Joe May wrote a letter to students assuring them that, while the announcement is causing much uncertainty and fear otherwise, there should be no interruption to their education if Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ends. May cited a Texas law that allows some undocumented immigrants to receive in-state tuition rates.
During these uncertain and potentially tumultuous times, I want to assure our undocumented students that they are still welcome here at DCCCD. I want to say to each of those students that the end of DACA doesn’t stop you from achieving your higher education dreams here in Dallas County.
May closed the letter with his unfettered support for undocumented students: “Let me be clear: Our undocumented students are not alone. DCCCD stands with you. I stand with you.”
Read the full letter here.
DACA, which took effect via an executive order from President Barak Obama in 2012, allows some undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children to apply for two-year deportation deferrals and receive work permits.
DACA recipients are not allowed to receive government assistance, including welfare, healthcare subsidies, housing vouchers or food aid.
Running the program has no cost to the United States government. But DACA recipients are required to pay income taxes, and it is estimated that deporting the 800,000 DACA recipients in the U.S. could cost $60 billion. Conservative estimates show that rescinding DACA could reduce economic growth by $280 billion, according to a report from the CATO institute.
