Contact: Liz Scruggs
972-860-5448;
MScruggs@DallasCollege.edu
For immediate release — June 18, 2020
(DALLAS) — On the heels of today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Dr. Joe May, chancellor of Dallas College, shared a message with all Dallas College students and employees, in which he commended the high court's decision and reassured DACA students, in particular, that he and the college will stand by them against any future challenges to the program. While the decision was hailed as a major victory to about 700,000 immigrants, a large share of whom are students like some at Dallas College, the decision does not prevent future moves to end DACA. In his renewed and steadfast support of the program, Dr. May shared his thoughts with the Dallas College community:
To our Dallas College students and employees:
Since plans to discontinue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program were announced in 2017, understandably many of you have expressed concerns regarding the potential impact to our students and employees.
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government did not follow the appropriate procedures in seeking to end DACA, specifically by not providing sufficient reasoning to terminate the program and without considering additional hardships DACA recipients could face without it.
This is a significant victory for the more than 450,000 undocumented students across the nation enrolled in higher education, and specifically, the approximately 66,0000 students in Texas. While it's important to note that the government may opt to pursue additional action at a later date to end the program, many undocumented Dallas College students will be able to continue their studies uninterrupted, in part due to our work to advocate for state law that treats them as "in-state" residents for the purpose of tuition, regardless of their DACA status.
Over the years, we have had a strong history of supporting our students and their educational goals and dreams, and we will continue to stand with you. We believe that our mission to transform lives and communities through higher education is applicable to all, and for our undocumented students, we hope this action will eliminate at least one potential barrier to your pursuit. For these reasons, we welcome and champion the high court's decision today.
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