In a letter to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, President Denise Trauth and at least 10 other Texas university presidents and chancellors co-signed a letter from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. The letter urges Cornyn to support bringing the Dream Act to a floor vote before Feb. 8.
HACU’s letter outlines the economic consequences if the 800,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients were deported and the effect on Texas. According to the letter, Texas is home to 141,000 DACA recipients and stands to lose $6.1 billion annually.
According to the Office of Media Relations, “In joining the other signatories, Texas State supports normalizing the status of deserving young people brought to the United States as children — often through no choice of their own — who have graduated from U.S. high schools and met the same rigorous academic requirements as their college-bound peers.”
Texas State is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. The student body is more than 30 percent Hispanic.
“Dreamers are valued members of the Texas State student body and help enrich the higher education experience for the entire university community,” Trauth said.
President Donald Trump withdrew DACA on Sept. 5, giving lawmakers until March 5 to find a permeant solution. That day, students sat on the steps of Alkek to protest Trump’s decision, while Trauth responded to the decision by a statement.
“Texas State is committed to the well-being of all members of the Bobcat community, and it is our aim to do everything within our legal authority to achieve that goal,” Trauth said. “We will begin discussing how this action might impact individuals and the university community, maintaining our commitment to inclusion and diversity in a way that complies with all applicable federal and state laws.”
Lawmakers initially were aiming to use the government shutdown as a chance to negotiate DACA. However, a bill was never heard on the Senate floor.
The issue is still being discussed, debated and tweeted about as the March 5 deadline approaches. Trump tweeted about DACA this morning.