Anyone who’s been on Georgetown’s campus for more than a few hours has likely seen the banners hanging from lampposts advertising our values: cura personalis, people for others, interreligious understanding, “Ad Majorieum Dei Gloriam”, academic excellence, educating the whole person, contemplation in action, and community in diversity. These are more than just phrases; they are a reflection of how we as a Catholic institution are called to learn from and work with one another. As undocumented students are threatened by the repeal of legislation they rely on for protection, it is this final idea of community in diversity that Georgetown must remember.
In 2012, President Barack Obama introduced Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that allowed immigrants who arrived in the US illegally before the age of 16 to work and attend school without threat of deportation. DACA was the administration’s answer to the complicated issue of children caught up in a broken system: recipients were brought into the country by their parents, and couldn’t be held responsible for their immigration status.
Since DACA’s enactment, around 800,000 DREAMers (a termed coined after a similar bill brought forward in 2001) have received protection. Most of them reside in California, New York, and Texas. Despite the Trump administration’s attempts to villainize them, DREAMers must have clean criminal records, be enrolled in school or serve in the military, and prove that they have lived in the U.S. continuously since June 15, 2007. They come from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, South Korea, and the Philippines, but for many DREAMers, America is home. DREAMers aren’t a threat to our country in any way; they are students and service people.
When the current administration tries to use DREAMers as a political tool to bargain for tighter immigration restrictions, how we react matters more than ever. Rumors of Donald Trump seeking funding to build his much-anticipated wall in exchange for keeping DACA are dangerous because they legitimize tactics which are not only ridiculous and costly but also dehumanizing. The futures of 800,000 students are not negotiable for a flimsy campaign promise. Any moves to fix our wounded immigration system need realistic bipartisan effort, and those attempts don’t come in the form of walls and deportation of students looking for a future and military recruits serving our country.
As a Jesuit institution that values community in diversity, it’s Georgetown’s job to defend DACA. DREAMers are more than numbers: they are our friends, neighbors, and classmates, and they are every bit as deserving of an education as everyone else here. We are a community built of people who work hard to solve problems and improve the world around us, and the DREAMers among us are doing just that.
For undocumented Hoyas looking for support, visit https://undocumented.georgetown.edu/ to find resources and information. For Hoyas who stand in solidarity with immigrants, call your representatives and ask them to protect DACA, use your voice to help others, and support efforts for fair immigration reform. A DACA repeal goes against our university’s fundamental values, and it’s up to Georgetown to stand with DREAMers.