UCs announce they will fight to protect undocumented students
DACA students are not alone
Its not just UCI Professor Sara Wallace Goodman who is taking a stand for undocumented students. “to take concrete steps to ensure a safe and secure environment for education, research, and service for our undocumented and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students, faculty, workers, and friends.”
On Wednesday November 30th, the University of California took a stand. UC President Janet Napolitano stated that the UC’s will “vigorously protect the privacy and civil rights of the undocumented members of the UC community.”
According to the LA Times “UC won’t assist federal agents in immigration actions against students.” In the article, the LA Times stated that “The UC president announced the new policies a day after she and the heads of the California State University and California Community Colleges sent a joint letter to President-elect Trump urging him to allow students without legal status to continue their educations. Trump, during his campaign, had said he would reverse an Obama administration program Napolitano created as Homeland Security secretary that deferred deportation proceedings against certain young people who stayed in school and out of trouble.”
It also stated that while, “UC does not track students’ immigration status…about 3,700 have obtained in-state tuition benefits under AB 540, a 2001 law designed to help those in the country illegally.”
With the uncertainty and unease created through the Trump campaign students in the UC system can feel a sense of support by the unified front that President Janet Napolitano and many board members have spearheaded.