Washington state higher ed leaders speak out in support of Dreamers

The presidents of Washington’s six public baccalaureate college and universities, 34 community and technical colleges, 10 members of the Independent Colleges of Washington, as well as the 10 members of the Washington Student Achievement Council issued the following statement following today’s announcement terminating the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in six months:

“Today’s announcement leaves us with profound disappointment and pained yet unequivocal resolve to stand up for our students who are among the 800,000 nationwide registered under DACA. These young people are some of the finest and most resilient students at our colleges and universities, often exhibiting unique character forged in the fire of adversity. They overcome major obstacles just to gain and retain eligibility without access to the federal financial assistance needed by so many to help make a college education attainable.

In Washington, all of our students, regardless of their immigration status, are invaluable to the teaching we provide in our classrooms, the research we perform in our labs, and the discoveries we make in medicine. These students and those who came before them are not strangers on our campuses, in our communities, and in our homes. They are our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends and our family. They are us.

Our nation's history has proven that education and service are essential components to sustaining communities and stimulating economic growth in addition to helping create personal success and happiness. Washington’s colleges and universities are working aggressively to produce graduates with degrees in science, business, technology, and medicine and a variety of other high-demand areas of endeavor. Employers in their desperate search for talented young people are already reaching out of state to fill top jobs. DACA graduates are playing and will continue to play an important role in meeting this critical need in the state of Washington. They embody the initiative and resolve that has made the United States of America the most prosperous and innovative country in the world.

This lamentable decision to end DACA threatens to rob us of hundreds of thousands of gifted, hardworking, and dedicated young people who are American in every way but their immigration status. We agree with the many business leaders throughout the country who are urging Congress to pass the bipartisan Dream Act or legislation that will allow these students to continue to contribute to the global competitive environment.”

https://www.wsac.wa.gov/daca

On behalf of:

Central Washington University

Eastern Washington University

The Evergreen State College

University of Washington

Washington State University

Western Washington University

State Board for Community and Technical Colleges

Bates Technical College

Bellevue College

Bellingham Technical College

Big Bend Community College

Cascadia College

Centralia College

Clark College

Clover Park Technical College

Columbia Basin College

Edmonds Community College

Everett Community College

Grays Harbor College

Green River College

Highline College

Lake Washington Institute of Technology

Lower Columbia College

North Seattle College

Olympic College

Peninsula College

Pierce College Fort Steilacoom

Pierce College Puyallup

Renton Technical College

Seattle Central College

Shoreline Community College

Skagit Valley College

South Puget Sound Community College

South Seattle College

Spokane Community College

Spokane Falls Community College

Tacoma Community College

Walla Walla Community College

Wenatchee Valley College

Whatcom Community College

Yakima Valley College

Gonzaga University

Heritage University

Pacific Lutheran University

Saint Martin’s University

Seattle Pacific University

Seattle University

University of Puget Sound

Walla Walla University

Whitman College

Whitworth University

Washington Student Achievement Council