Congressman Jared Huffman, never one to shy away of from criticism of our President, issued a response to today’s news that the Trump Administration will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the Obama-era policy that protected near 800,000 young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as minors from deportation.    

“Every community around the county will feel the effect of Donald Trump’s reckless DACA reversal,” Huffman writes. Read his full statement below:

 

President Trump’s decision to terminate the DACA program is a cruel, broken promise that will harm hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were brought here as children and have lived as Americans for their entire lives. When Trump promised to spare DREAMers from his unforgiving deportation plans, he was, yet again, blowing hot air. This is not just another broken Donald Trump promise, it’s a violation of the core values that America and our communities are built on. 

These DREAMers have grown up in America: they’ve studied at our schools, enrolled in our universities, served in our military, and contribute every day to our economy and our society. Now President Trump — who pardoned Joe Arpaio for unforgivable racial profiling and violating a judge’s order — believes that these young people ought to be deported, or that they should stop working and instead disappear into the shadows.

Congress must now act to give the DREAMers a chance to earn their way to citizenship and stay in the country that they call home. This is a test for the leadership of the House and Senate: will we just hear empty expressions of concern, or will they actually take a stand and work with us to immediately bring the American Hope Act of 2017 to a vote, to protect these deserving young people from Donald Trump and set them on a path to earned citizenship. Congress needs to act now to fix our broken immigration system.

Every community around the country will feel the effect of Donald Trump’s reckless DACA reversal. In my own district, I have met with young DREAMers who are upstanding members of the community, including children whose parents are already facing deportation orders. I will continue to do everything in my power to defend these families from Donald Trump’s cowardly, destructive, and un-American decision to end the DACA program.”

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The North Coast’s State Senator Mike McGuire penned his own statement in opposition to Trump’s move:

 

The young people who are at the heart of President Trump’s decision today have done nothing wrong. In many cases, America is the only home they have ever known and it is the country that they love. Dreamers are serving in our military and rescuing flood victims in Houston. They are small business owners and make California one of the most successful states in America. Diversity is who we are in California. It’s what makes this state strong and our economy thrive. That is why California will stand with the 200,000 young people who are Dreamers in the Golden State and defend their rights and fight this cruel decision by our President in the halls of our capitol to the streets of our communities and in the court of law.

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Humboldt State University President Lisa Rossbacher sent out the following letter to faculty and students, also critical of Trump’s DACA decision:

 

Dear HSU Community,

We have a simple message today for Dreamers. Humboldt State University stands with you, and we care about you. We’re going to keep doing all we can to help you succeed in school and become Humboldt alumni.

And we’re not alone. Leadership from across California, including the Governor and the heads of the state’s higher education systems, are committed to Dreamers as well. Read today’s CSU Chancellor’s statement here.

The protections offered by DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, shouldn’t be an issue. It’s a program for individuals who were brought to this country as children–the Dreamers–who in most cases don’t know anywhere else as home. But earlier today, we heard about plans to rescind DACA. By doing so with no alternative solution in place, our government has created uncertainty and fear for hundreds of thousands of people, including thousands of college students.

Along with many of our faculty and staff, I’m frustrated by this short-sighted thinking of our leadership at the national level. I want America to do better. We need America to do better.

At HSU, we enroll nearly 100 Dreamers each semester. They represent what is best about our country, they are part of our national community, and we should be supporting them.

Voices from across our nation are speaking out and appealing to lawmakers for a solution, and in my role as HSU’s President, I will continue my advocacy. Late last week, I was in contact with our Congressman Jared Huffman, and I also reached out to both California Senators, urging them to make this a legislative priority. I have coordinated my efforts closely with the CSU Chancellor’s Office and other CSU presidents, and I joined hundreds of other educational leaders in signing a letter supporting DACA. I will continue to do everything I can in the weeks and months to come to support our students.

Please join me in standing with HSU’s Dreamers and offering them support and help. I hope you’ll also join me in urging members of Congress to work towards a long-term solution.

Students in need of guidance may contact an academic advisor or a campus support center. Information and resources from the CSU is here and a document from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center is here (pdf). The CSU Chancellor’s letter to campuses from earlier this year is here, and letters in support of DACA signed by the Chancellor and myself are here and here.

Sincerely yours, 
Lisa A. Rossbacher, Ph.D. 
President