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Sarah Lawrence College and more than 70 other member institutions of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration have signed onto an amicus brief filed yesterday supporting plaintiffs who are challenging President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (“DACA”) program.
The “friend of the court” brief presents compelling evidence of the vital role that the DACA program plays at the institutions and beyond, enabling thousands of previously undocumented students to successfully pursue a college degree while contributing significantly to their campuses, communities, and the nation. The brief also points to the serious harm that would be caused to American colleges and universities and to the nation more broadly if DACA were ended. Representing institutions of higher education, the law firm Jenner & Block prepared and filed the amicus brief for the case of Batalla Vidal v. Trump in the Second Circuit of the US Court of Appeals.
The brief states that DACA students “form a key part of our campus life and as institutions we benefit greatly from the energy and academic excellence they bring.” And, that rescinding DACA not only harms many remarkable young people, but “critically, it will also harm the country, which will be deprived of the many contributions Dreamers would otherwise be able to make.”
Sarah Lawrence College and the other signatories represent the broad coalition of institutions whose leaders are members of the Presidents’ Alliance. Located in communities spanning the political spectrum and ranging from urban centers to rural farm areas, collectively they teach and employ millions of people, and include large public universities, private research universities, small liberal arts colleges, and expansive community colleges.
A court date for the case to be heard has not yet been set.
About the President’s Alliance
The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration brings together American college and university leaders dedicated to increasing public understanding of how immigration policies and practices impact our students, campuses, and communities, and supporting policies that create a welcoming environment for immigrant, undocumented, and international students on our campuses. Launched in December 2017, this non-partisan organization includes more than 300 college and university presidents and chancellors from across the country to date. The Presidents’ Alliance invites college and university presidents and chancellors who endorse the principles in the Alliance’s Founding Statement to join.