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September 14, 2021, Miami, Florida – Dr. Michael Allen, President of Barry University, was one of five presidents of Florida colleges and universities to sign onto an editorial supporting the Dream Act and a path to citizenship for those who had entered the United States without documents as children.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a policy put into place in 2012 under the administration of President Barack Obama, allows undocumented children who were brought into the United States by their families to apply for a two-year waiting period before deportation or any other action can be taken against them.
A Circuit Court Judge in Texas recently ruled that DACA is illegal, but the American Dream and Promise Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would offer the DACA recipients, “Dreamers,” a path toward citizenship.
“With more than 12,000 DACA-eligible students in Florida, every day on our campuses we see firsthand the hopes, aspirations and hard work of many of Florida’s nearly 70,000 Dreamers,” the presidents wrote. “Granting them a pathway to citizenship is no act of charity; it’s enlightened self-interest.”
The presidents went on to note that about 200,000 DACA recipients worked on the front lines during the pandemic and have contributed well to the United States. Giving these young immigrants a pathway to citizenship “means unlocking and unleashing their incredible economic potential.”
Signing on the editorial with Dr. Allen were David A. Armstrong, President of St. Thomas University; Grant H. Cornwell, President of Rollins College; George L. Hanbury II, President and CEO of Nova Southeastern University; and Jeffrey D. Senese, President of St. Leo University.
Read their editorial here.
Feature photo: Angels Unawares, a sculpture supporting the value of immigrants to the United States, was the backdrop of Barry University’s March 2021 dedication of the Institute for Immigration Studies. Photo Courtesy of the Communications Office of Barry University