July 22, 2021

A federal judge in Texas on Friday, July 16, issued a ruling that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is unlawful. The decision is likely to be appealed to higher courts, and it does not affect individuals who currently have DACA or need to renew existing DACA benefits. However, the decision blocked the federal government’s approval of new DACA applications.

The University of Michigan is proud to welcome and support the educational aspirations of all students, regardless of immigration status.

“Hundreds of thousands of Dreamers contribute mightily to the intellectual, educational and economic strength of our nation’s colleges, universities, businesses and communities,” President Mark Schlissel said. “We are a better, smarter, kinder and more competitive nation when we support all students pursuing their dreams of higher education.”

President Schlissel and hundreds of university, corporate and civic leaders this week signed a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Chuck Schumer to “urge the Senate to come together and immediately provide a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and DACA-eligible individuals through the passage of the bipartisan DREAM Act.”

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked an effort to bring an end to the DACA program, saying the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had provided insufficient justification for doing so. However, the Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of DACA itself. U-M’s statement after that ruling noted that “we will continue our advocacy for a permanent solution that will provide a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 650,000 ‘dreamers’ who are important members of our communities.”

U-M DACA support resources, as well as information for students needing assistance connecting with support resources related to DACA or undocumented status, are available at https://undocumented.umich.edu/support-services/.