Through executive action, President Donald Trump has announced his plan to phase out Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program issued in 2012 to provide deportation protection for hundreds of thousands of young people in our country.
Because of this action, Donnelly College today continued to express its support for DACA students and their families during this time of great uncertainty.
“We call upon Congress to provide a ‘legislative fix’ by passing comprehensive immigration reform or, at least, a version of the DREAM act,” urged Donnelly College President Monsignor Stuart Swetland, in a news release.
“The repeal of DACA will affect institutions of higher education across the country, but more importantly, it will have a negative impact on our students, their families and our community at large,” Swetland said. “We must remember that regardless of how they came to us, they are here now, and they are human beings.
“America can never be great without first being good. Historically our goodness was grounded in our generosity, hospitality and fairmindedness. By definition, all persons with DACA status are law-abiding residents. Through no fault of their own, they are in an undocumented status. To deprive young persons of the only country they have ever known because of something their relatives may or may not have done is not in keeping with the American ideals that historically have made this country a beacon of liberty, opportunity and justice. They are persons, not pawns.”
Donnelly College is the region’s only federally-designated Hispanic-serving and minority-serving institution with 84 percent students of color.
Anticipating this action, Monsignor Swetland recently signed a letter of support for DACA students organized by Faith in Public Life that stated, “We witness the obstacles they overcome each day as they pursue their dream of a better life for themselves and their families. In facing adversity and uncertainty with grace and hope, they embody the best of our schools, our country and the Catholic tradition. It is a moral and policy failure when our government targets children and young adults who simply aspire to live the American dream. Breaking up families and communities undermines the best values of our nation.”
Monsignor Swetland also was one of 123 Catholic college presidents who signed The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities’ joint statement in support of DACA in November 2016. “We are committed to educating these young people, brought to the United States by their parents, who come to our universities to build for themselves and us a brighter future,” the statement said.
The ACCU’s statement also quoted Pope Francis’s remarks to immigrants during his September 2015 visit at the World Meeting of Families in Philadephia: “Do not be discouraged by whatever hardships you face. I ask you not to forget that, like those who came here before you, you bring many gifts to this nation.”
ACLU of Kansas
The ACLU of Kansas today released this statement, from executive director Micah Kubic, reacting to the White House announcement rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:
“Five years ago, the federal government made a deal with immigrant youth: As long as you pass a criminal background check you can live, study, and work here. Hundreds of thousands of young people came out of the shadows and accepted the government’s offer in good faith and worked hard to build their lives here.
“Today, the government and President Trump went back on their word, threw the lives and futures of 800,000 Dreamers and their families into disarray, and injected chaos and uncertainty into thousands of workplaces and communities across America.
“In Kansas alone, 6,083 of our neighbors use their DACA status to give back to our country in innumerable ways: they are our doctors, soldiers, teachers, and students. Our neighbors, family, and friends.
“The ACLU of Kansas is deeply ashamed that our elected officials, including Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Secretary Kobach, were among the loudest voices calling for the termination of DACA. Now, as the fate of 800,000 young adults who call this country home lies in the hands of Congress, we urge our senators and representatives to stand on the right side of history and fight to protect Dreamers and our country’s foundation.
“While this is a hard day for the immigrant community and America as a whole, we will continue to fight. Years of courage, sacrifices, and organizing won the DACA program in 2012. Nothing will deter these Americans and our allies in Kansas and across the country from continuing to fight on behalf of their futures and holding those responsible accountable.”
Kansas attorney general
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt today sent out a news release that he would agree to dismiss the pending lawsuit that challenged the president’s authority to amend immigration policy without the approval of Congress. The DACA program was rescinded today by the Trump administration.
Schmidt today issued this statement:
“As unilaterally declared by President Obama, DACA always has been a cruel illusion. No president has authority to keep the promises the Obama administration made to the Dreamers; President Obama said so himself more than two dozen times.
“The Trump administration’s actions today return the issue to the only place constitutionally empowered to resolve it: The United States Congress. Congress has had more than five years to address this issue and has done nothing, but perhaps having a legal deadline, after which neither the president nor the courts will continue to turn a blind eye to unlawful executive actions, can motivate Congress to act.
“The obvious reality is our country is not going to round up and deport 800,000 people who in the past were brought here as children, grew up here, have committed no crimes, and now have relied in good faith on the Obama administration’s false but enticing promises. Congress needs to enact immigration law that humanely and responsibly fixes this problem once and for all. There is no substitute for addressing this matter through the lawmaking process the Constitution establishes.”
Statement from Rep. Yoder
U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-3rd Dist.) issued the following statement after the announcement:
“I have great sympathy for minors that were illegally brought to the United States through no fault of their own and who know no other country than the United States of America. We are a nation of immigrants. Yet, we are also a nation that values the rule of law, and President Obama’s DACA order was an unconstitutional abuse of executive authority. The Administration is right to restore proper balance of powers under our Constitution.
“I opposed President Obama’s ‘temporary stopgap measure’ as he called it five years ago – in which he said ‘this is not amnesty, this is not immunity, this is not a path to citizenship’ – because it would leave many undocumented immigrants in limbo, with no real status. That has now proven to be the case.
“While the program may have been conceived with good intentions, it has served as a magnet, bringing tens of thousands of new immigrants, exacerbating our illegal immigration challenges, and creating a humanitarian crisis at the border.
“The President has given Congress a six-month window to act on immigration reform, and that’s exactly what we should do. We must secure our borders, repair our broken visa program, and provide needed reforms and certainty and stability for minors. We must pursue policies that are both compassionate and restore the rule of law in our country.
“I do not favor deporting ‘dreamers’ but their status is a decision that can only be made by an act of Congress and should be one that improves our legal immigration process and secures our border. Otherwise we will be left with a piecemeal mess, which is what we have on our hands today.”