BOSTON, MA—Teach Plus today issued the following statement on President Trump revoking DACA:
“Teach Plus strongly condemns the decision by President Trump to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Revoking DACA puts in jeopardy hundreds of thousands of students who call the United States home and are striving to find success through education. We urge Congress to immediately and unconditionally pass the bipartisan DREAM Act of 2017, so that each and every student can continue to learn and grow.
Teach Plus teachers across the nation are steadfast in their commitment to support immigrant and refugee students and their families and to ensure that all students, regardless of their country of birth, have equal access to education. A recent Teach Plus survey found that a majority of teachers, or 89 percent, overwhelmingly support the continuation of the DACA policy.
“Today’s decision to end the DACA program falls short of our nation’s truest values,” said Roberto Rodriguez, Teach Plus President and CEO. “America’s teachers work hard each day to ensure that their classrooms are places where every student is welcomed and supported, regardless of their background or their country of birth. Congress should embrace that spirit and act swiftly to protect the thousands of DACA recipients and Dreamers that contribute to and enrich our country.”
These teachers include Teach Plus Policy Fellow and Los Angeles high school social justice teacher Stephanie Kozofsky, who has been helping her students to apply for the California DREAM Act scholarship so they can achieve their dream of going to college. “If students are not applying for the DREAM Act because of fear of deportation or other risks associated with recent federal immigration legislation, what happens to their motivation to succeed in school?” said Kozofsky. “Now more than ever, we need to make students feel safe and safeguard their success no matter what obstacles the government may place in their way.”
In March, Teach Plus released Profiles in Educator Courage that includes examples of actions that teachers, schools, and districts are undertaking to support their students, such as providing trainings for students, parents, and teachers and helping students access DACA benefits; helping immigrant and refugee students access higher education; and helping all students understand and process current events.
Teach Plus is a national nonprofit that empowers excellent, experienced teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. www.teachplus.org
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