Dear Students of the University of Portland,
As some of you may be aware, on September 5th President Trump announced his decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy. In light of this decision, the Associated Students of the University of Portland (ASUP) Senate would like to be a part of continuing the conversation on DACA and express our support for the DREAMers here at UP.
To give some background, DACA was an executive action initiated by President Obama in 2012 to offer temporary protection for young, undocumented immigrants, otherwise known as DREAMers, from deportation. This policy allowed its recipients to pursue higher education and work within the U.S. — the country where they have spent a major portion of their lives.
The decision to end DACA affects 800,000 undocumented immigrants that are a part of this program, with 25,000 in Oregon alone. The Trump administration has turned this issue over to Congress, stating that if no alternative policy is passed within the next six months, the DACA program will be terminated, leaving the status and livelihoods of DACA recipients unknown.
As student leaders of the University of Portland, we stand with DREAMers in fulfillment of our mission statement, but more importantly as proponents of human respect and dignity. We understand the decision to end DACA is affecting students on our campus, but we want to remind all students that regardless of your documentation status, there is a place for you here at the University of Portland.
We are calling upon the student body not to simply react to this consequential news, but to educate ourselves, rise in solidarity, and move towards action. As part of the action steps we can take, we encourage people to contact our respective representatives and call for legislative policy that protects DREAMers.
We live in shared humanity and know that no human being is, nor can they be, illegal.
We are here to listen, so please reach out to us by contacting asup@up.edu , dropping by the ASUP Office in St Mary's, or leaving anonymous feedback through our website. We want to hear from you and learn how we can best support our DREAMers.
This letter was submitted by the Student Affairs Committee, including ASUP senators Kathleen Burks, Harrison Pyros and Sitara Nath, with support from the rest of Senate. Burks can be reached at burks19@up.edu.
