With DACA Set to Expire in One Month, Public Research University Group Urges Swift Congressional Action to Protect Dreamers

Washington, DC – With the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program set to expire one month from today, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) President Peter McPherson today sent congressional leaders a letter urging that they swiftly approve legislation to protect Dreamers.

The full text of the letter can be downloaded here and found below:

February 5, 2018

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Charles Schumer
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Paul Ryan
Speaker
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Speaker Ryan and Leaders McConnell, Schumer, and Pelosi:

I write to you today about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. I hear regularly from public universities as well as individual students about the urgent need to fix this policy to help students and others continue their vital contributions to workplaces, college campuses, and communities across the country.

With the DACA program poised to expire one month from today, I urge Congress to swiftly pass legislation that would continue protections and eliminate uncertainty for Dreamers. Enactment of such legislation would mitigate the incredible disruption that DACA termination would have on the roughly 800,000 enrollees, including many at our universities.

We recognize there is strong bipartisan support for a fair, compassionate, and expeditious solution. We prevail on Congress to pass a bipartisan bill without further delay.

Sincerely,
Peter McPherson
President, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities