Universities in Mexico are making plans to accommodate more students in the event of a full DACA repeal. Since so many Dreamers are college students, they expect a major uptick in enrollment.
Karin Fischer reports at The Chronicle of Higher Education:
Mexican Universities Prepare for a Potential ‘Tsunami’ of DACA StudentsIf President Trump and Congress cannot come to an agreement to prevent the deportation of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, Mexican universities say they are ready to welcome them as students.The fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, the Obama-era initiative that allows such people to stay in the United States and work or study, is uncertain. The Trump administration this month announced it would end DACA, but Democratic Congressional leaders said on Wednesday they had struck a deal with the president to extend it.No matter, Mexican universities say they are prepared to accept an influx of so-called Dreamers, if they are forced to leave the United States.Indeed, Mexican higher education and the Mexican government have been preparing for months for such a possibility, even as President Trump equivocated about DACA’s fate. Back in March, the Mexican Congress approved changes to federal education law to streamline what had been a complicated and bureaucratic admissions process.Under the amended law, the process for validating transcripts from foreign institutions has been simplified and a uniform national standard has been set for recognizing academic credits from abroad…Universities are seeking to fast-track Dreamers’ applications. They will be able to apply for admission to Mexican institutions while still in the United States, said Rodrigo Guerra Botello, secretary general of the Mexican Federation of Private Institutions of Higher Education.
Colleges and universities in the United States are doing what they can to allay the fears of students who could be affected. Jennifer Hansler reported at CNN:
Colleges try to reassure undocumented students in wake of DACA decisionFor many college students, Tuesday marked the start of a new semester of classes. For those students protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, it also ushered in an uncertain future about their status in the United States.In the wake of the Trump administration’s decision to rescind DACA, leaders from some of the nation’s top higher education institutions have come forward to slam the decision — and to assure their undocumented students that they will be protected on campus…Penn declared itself a “sanctuary campus” in November 2016, announcing at the time that it would not allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection or US Citizenship and Immigration Services agents onto campus unless required by warrant. The university reiterated in their statement Tuesday that they would “do everything (they) can to support and assist the Dream Act students who are valued members of our community. Other Ivy League universities joined Penn in condemning the decision, including Columbia, Harvard and Cornell.Harvard said it does not consider immigration status as part of its admissions and financial aid process. While it is not a “sanctuary campus,” the university noted that it “does not voluntarily share information on the immigration status of undocumented community members, and federal officials attempting to enforce immigration laws on campus are required to obtain a judicial warrant.”
Columbia student and DACA recipient Santiago Tobar Potes recently wrote this for FOX News:
DACA student: Deporting me and 800,000 Dreamers is a man-made disaster that will be terrible for USHurricane Harvey forced thousands of people from their homes in Texas and Louisiana – and now President Trump is threatening to force me and 800,000 other undocumented immigrants brought to America as children out of our homes throughout the United States.My heart goes out to those made homeless by Harvey. That tragedy, unfortunately, was unavoidable. But President’s Trump’s decision announced Tuesday to end a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in six months is a man-made disaster…This is torture for all 800,000 of us – a giant question mark hanging over our heads.Almost all of us have jobs or are in school. We have friends, relatives, partners and many ties to our communities. And we love America. We desperately want to stay.But it’s not just we Dreamers who would be hurt by the end of DACA. America would suffer.The Center for American Progress estimates that ending DACA would remove about 685,000 workers from the U.S. economy over the next 10 years – creating hardships for employers who would have to replace them.
The consensus among pundits is that Congress and the Trump administration will probably reach an agreement on DACA but that hasn’t stopped the hysteria around the issue.
At least Mexican universities seem pretty excited about it.
Featured image via YouTube.
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