Dear CSN Family,
Today, I join with the White House, NSHE Chancellor Dr. Melody Rose, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, the Community College Consortium for Immigrant Education, the President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration and countless others in expressing our concern over a recent federal court ruling regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
The DACA program was implemented in 2012 through an executive order to give thousands of undocumented young adults a work permit and shield them from deportation. This past Friday, a U.S. District Judge in Texas ruled the program unlawful. Judge Andrew Hanen’s ruling barred the administration from approving new DACA applications. The ruling, however, does allow the current DACA recipients to remain protected and able to renew their protected status. It is imperative that the United States Congress act as soon as possible to pass federal legislation to provide a permanent immigration solution for the hundreds of thousands of youths covered by the program.
At CSN, we value the diverse population of students, faculty and staff that make up the CSN family. We strongly support the pursuit of education by all of our students including DACA-undocumented students. As a community college, we must reflect the diverse sectors of the community we serve.
There are resources available for those who may need them. The UNLV Immigration Clinic’s University Legal Services Program offers free legal advice and representation to the UNLV and CSN communities. To schedule an appointment, call (702) 895-2080 or email immigrationclinic@unlv.nevada.edu. The Immigrant Home Foundation also provides assistance and resources to immigrant families. To schedule an appointment, call (702) 889-4431 or email info@immigrantfoundation.org.
For additional information, please contact the CSN All-Access Committee. Some of the resources available to our DACA and undocumented students include the CSN Alternative Scholarship Application and the CSN Student Emergency Fund. To learn more about immigration resources in general, see the Nevada Immigrant Resource Guide.
Thank you.
Federico Zaragoza
President
College of Southern Nevada