In the wake of potential DACA policy changes, George Washington University (GWU) is asking its students to refrain from questioning their immigrant peers about their legal status.
“In order to respect the privacy of our fellow community members, we ask that you do not ask anyone about their status,” university provost Forrest Maltzman wrote in an email to the school community.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced the end of the program, created under President Barack Obama, which has deferred deportations of those who came to the United States illegally with their parents. Congress has until March 2018 to address the status of the approximately 800,000 immigrants under the program.
In response, colleges have protested by releasing statements condemning the decision and standing in solidarity with affected students, hoping for a congressional solution.
GWU, located in close proximity to the White House, responded to DACA’s end by releasing a statement steps taken by the university to ensure DACA students are welcomed and supported on campus. These steps include a webpage with resources, informational meetings, and free-of-charge legal services.
University president Thomas LeBlanc wrote, “While we do not have a count of students who are registered with the DACA program or who are undocumented, we are confident that our Colonial family includes such students.”
“We value the contributions that all of our students bring to our campus community,” LeBlanc added. “Policies that hinder our ability to attract and educate the best and the brightest are not in the interest of GW or the nation’s higher education system.”
GWU spokesperson Maralee Csellar told the GW Hatchet that school officials will bring in outside immigration counsel to help students weigh the impact of Trump’s decision on their futures. The university will help undocumented and self-identified DACA recipients “as permitted by law and as requested,” she said.
Steven Shi, a GWU sophomore from China, told Red Alert that while he sympathizes with those under DACA and that it “would be this country’s loss” if they were deported, he has his criticisms of the current immigration system.
“I think the current immigration system, racial profiling system, etc… systematically discriminate against people from Asian countries especially China, Korea, and India,” he said. “I definitely feels [sic] that there are double standards against us. A Chinese student on legal status found cheating in an exam can be deported right away where an illegal immigrant can commit minor crime and still be able to remain in this country.”
Shi added, “The current system is unfair because talents who [want] to contribute to America [don’t] get to stay, and people think it’s normal and okay that these quotas and limitations are placed on us legal aliens where people freak out when a politician even suggest that there needs to be a limit to those entering the country illegally.”
Regarding Maltzman’s statement, Shi questions GWU’s treatment of immigrant students. “When the University [advertises]…its support policies for undocumented students, they are still not hiring more staff for [the] International Services office and improving support services that we pay and extra fee to use,” he said.
“Although I believe at least some people in the University [want] to protect students…DACA and undocumented, it’s hard to convince me that the University is really doing this out of good will,” he added.
Thus far, two DACA bills that have been introduced this year. The DREAM Act would provide a pathway to citizenship for recipients, while the SUCCEED Act would create a merit-based pathway to legal residency in which such immigrants would be eligible for protective status if they arrived in the U.S. before the age of 16 years, hold a high school diploma, pass an extensive criminal background check, and meet a few additional requirements. Only after completing an additional five-year protected status would they be able to apply for a green card, which kickstarts the naturalization process.
