This week the nation marks the 13th anniversary of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, an immensely successful program that provides temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to more than 800,000 immigrants who came here as children.
More than 400,000 undocumented students, including many at Hunter College, are pursuing degrees, launching careers, and contributing meaningfully to their campuses, communities, and states.
At Hunter, we value and protect our many undocumented students. Our Immigrant Student Success Center advocates for our undocumented and immigrant students and fosters a safe, empowering, and community of belonging to all students, regardless of status, through informative resources, advising, programming, scholarships, and advocacy.
Hunter College also works collectively with higher-education partners across the country to increase public understanding of how immigration policies and practices impact our students, campuses, and communities. An important avenue for this advocacy is the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, of which Hunter College President Nancy Cantor is a founding board member and Steering Committee co-chair.
Dreamers at Hunter are pursuing rigorous programs in STEM, healthcare, teaching, and more — and are some of our most successful graduates. Hunter is extremely proud to have hosted cohorts of students supported in cooperation with the nationally prominent DREAM.US program that provides financial and other supports to dreamers.
On this anniversary, we reflect on the contributions DACA recipients have made to our campus as students, alumni, faculty, and staff. At the same time, we recognize the determination of those who are not eligible for DACA, as well as the resilience of all who have weathered challenges to the program and emphasize the importance of establishing permanent protections for all Dreamers.
