August 25, 2022
The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) commends the Biden administration for the final rule released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that would preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Since its establishment a decade ago, DACA has played a critical role in providing access to higher education, employment, and other opportunities for undocumented students. The administration’s actions will help protect the program against legal threats to the program’s existence.
Now we must do more. We call on Congress to pass legislation that includes a clear pathway to citizenship, so that undocumented and DACA-mented students can continue their educations free of the fear of being deported. We also call for an expansion of DACA’s eligibility criteria, so that youth who have been left out of the program will have greater opportunity to access education.
Higher education institutions, for their part, must not rest on the sidelines in this important matter of protecting and expanding access to education. As practitioners and scholars of inclusive excellence, NADOHE members will continue their work to cultivate welcoming campus environments for undocumented students, who face burdens and barriers that other students do not.
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The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) is the preeminent voice for chief diversity officers. As the leader of the national conversation on diversity, equity, and inclusion, it investigates, influences, and innovates to transform higher education so that inclusive excellence lives at its core.