Why Pres. Duane Nellis is defending DACA in D.C. on Wednesday

Donald Trump’s decision to end DACA will leave 800,000 young, undocumented immigrants adrift unless congressional members act otherwise. Ohio U President Duane Nellis will begin urging them to change their minds tomorrow.

Ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protections would threaten Ohio University's "commitment to fair treatment and inclusivity for all of our students," President Duane Nellis said in an email to [tooltip gravity="ne" txtcolor="#000000" text="Students, staff, faculty and anyone who receives emails from University Communications and Marketing. "]the community[/tooltip] this afternoon. In response to the Donald Trump administration's announcement that nearly 800,000 beneficiaries would lose protection from deportation, Nellis will campaign for Ohio U's DACA students in Washington, D.C. tomorrow. Specifically, he'll ask "face-to-face" for action to be taken "immediately."[AdSense-A] Ohio U spokesperson Carly Leatherwood told The Athens NEWS that the actual number of students affected isn't known.[quotes quotes_style="bquotes" quotes_pos="center"]

OU spokesperson Carly Leatherwood said in a brief statement that it's not clear exactly how many OU students are DACA-documented (also called DREAMers).

"We think it's a relatively low number, but not all students report," she said.

Leatherwood explained that Nellis is already in Washington as a part of a planned trip.

[/quotes]President M. Duane Nellis responds to news regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.In his email, Nellis referenced prior university administration efforts to support Ohio U DREAMers, including letter-writing campaigns to representatives and "reaffirming our commitment to OHIO’s harassment and discrimination policy that already includes race, national origin and ethnicity."https://twitter.com/DrElliottDorans/status/905148936259764225DACA is a program created in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama to protect children that entered the U.S. illegally with their parents. It offers a temporary grant of protection from deportation and a permit to work legally. In order to get DACA, DREAMers have to have entered the U.S. before 2007, been 15 or younger when entering, be 31 or younger when applying, have a nearly spotless criminal record and be enrolled in or have completed high school.With the Department of Homeland Security's decision to shut down the program over the next six months, this means DACA applications will be continued to be renewed until Oct. 5. It also gives Congress half a year to come up with a legislative solution.Nellis' opposition can be credited to two things: one, support in the Ohio U and Athens community for DACA and two, Ohio U's wording of the harassment and discrimination policy. It includes race, national origin and ethnicity, although then-Ohio U Provost Pam Benoit declined to incorporate immigration status early this year.https://twitter.com/MiriamShadis/status/905114300762791936"The individuals directly affected by this decision have worked hard to be here and have so much to offer to the common good," Nellis said in his emailed statement. 

"At Ohio University and other institutions of higher education across the country, DACA has made it possible for all students to pursue an education and explore meaningful ways to contribute to our communities and economy."