Memorandum: Support for DACA
September 6, 2017
Dear MICA Community Members,
As most of you have heard, the Trump administration announced yesterday its plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The rescission decision places in jeopardy the protected status of nearly 800,000 young people currently in the
In late 2016, I signed the Statement in Support of DACA on behalf of MICA and joined a large cohort of college and university presidents to express our belief in the benefits of this program for our nation and the moral imperative of maintaining the protections that it provides for Dreamers. MICA's position remains unchanged. As a campus community, we stand firmly behind the undocumented and DACA students among us. We will support those who are impacted by this decision and link them to appropriate resources wherever possible. Student Affairs leadership is currently consulting with key student groups in order to determine what support services will be of greatest value on campus.
In the very near term, the University of Baltimore's School of Law and Baltimore's Immigration Legal Resource Center will host an information session today at 12:30 p.m. in Room 135 of the William H. Thumel Sr. Business Center at 11 W. Mt. Royal Ave. The UB administration is graciously welcoming interested MICA community members to attend. If you are or someone you know is affected by the DACA decision, this session may provide some guidance on the legal implications of this decision.
Those who already have DACA status and whose work permits expire between now and March 5, 2018, will be able to apply for a two-year renewal if they apply by October 5, 2017. DACA students and their families who wish to seek counsel in privacy may wish to consider these resources:
- Maryland- and Baltimore-based non-profit immigration legal services
- Immigration attorneys with whom MICA has worked with previously
- Sheela Murthy, Murthy Law Firm; 410-356-5440
- Christopher L. Thomas, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.; 303-764-6808
Everyone who believes in DACA can take action. Because the Congress has the power to act on DACA if it chooses, those of us who wish to preserve DACA should urge our elected officials in Congress to take swift action to protect DACA program participants.
It is important that the DACA students in our midst do not feel alone as they face life-altering uncertainty. MICA is their home and we are their community.