We are so pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program can remain in place and that the Trump administration’s rescinding of DACA was impermissible. The program, established in 2012 by President Obama, protects undocumented individuals from deportation if they entered the U.S. as children and meet other DACA criteria. This program has provided essential protection for some undocumented students at Columbia and around the country, and this ruling will enable greater access to the program’s protections.
The program was rescinded by the Trump administration in 2017 in a process that the Court described as “arbitrary and capricious” in violation of federal law. Throughout this time of challenges to DACA, Columbia has joined legal briefs and letters to Congress in support of the program and the role of federal law and policy to support access to higher education for undocumented students here and across the country.
At Columbia, we are — and will continue to be — an academic home to DACA and undocumented students whose contributions, both scholarly and through student organizations and other activities, enrich our entire community.
Even with this ruling, we know that DACA and undocumented students face distinct challenges, and the Office of University Life remains available to help individual students find information and resources. Please visit our website to learn more about DACA and student resources here at Columbia and elsewhere.
In community,
Suzanne B. Goldberg
Executive Vice President for University Life
Herbert and Doris Wechsler Clinical Professor of Law
