Immigrant students are safe at PC
By Sarah Baker
If you are an undocumented immigrant at Peninsula College, you should be rest assured that you can safely participate in an education. PC does not collect or share immigration information not required by law. If you or anyone you know is approached by a federal enforcement agent, immediately contact the Vice President for Student Services at (360) 417-6225 or find Office D220 in the Student Services Building.
While PC is protecting its immigrant students, it’s clear the Trump Administration does not share the same view.
President Trump’s efforts to end DACA have reached a temporary hiatus by court order, while the Supreme Court makes a decision on the matter. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority is presumed to put an end to the program come 2020.
Why should we care about DACA and undocumented immigrants?
DACA is Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an American immigration policy that allows some immigrants with unlawful presence – specifically, those brought to the US as children – a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and be eligible for a work permit.
DACA has shielded approximately 700,000 undocumented immigrants from deportation, immigrants who have not committed any felonies or significant misdemeanors, as is a DACA requirement.
Despite President Trump’s “very tough, hardened criminals” narrative, according to a United States Citizenship and Immigration report released last year, the arrest rate for DACA recipients is 78 percent below the national average.
However, he has contradicted himself in the past, when he tweeted in Sept 2017, “Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!”
He hit the nail on the head this time. In order to be eligible for DACA, recipients must be in school, a high school graduate or be honorably discharged from the military.
DACA recipients are educated individuals who do not commit crime. Most of them are living normal lives, working a job, paying taxes and working toward degrees they can put to use here in the US. They are, functionally, alike to many legal citizens born in this country. The primary difference is that because they were brought here as children, a choice they did not make, people feel empowered to oppose their existence.
If the DACA program ends, it will not only put its recipients in jeopardy, but their children will potentially have their parents deported.
President Trump has said that if SCOTUS goes along with his efforts to end the program, “a deal will be made with Dems for them to stay.” If his recent past is anything to go off of, this deal will involve forcing Democrats to pay extortionate amounts of money to construct his border wall.
It’s clear that Trump will go as far as ripping families apart and literally barricading immigrants from the country in order to make America whiter.
DACA recipients, let it be known that the Buccaneer staff stands with you.
If you want to donate to aid immigrants and their children, consider donating to the National Immigration Law Center:
https://secure.nilc.org/np/clients/nilc/donation.jsp?campaign=15&
