DHS Should Make Deferred Action Formal Policy for DREAM-Act-Eligible Students

WASHINGTON, July 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NAFSA: Association of International Educators is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to make "deferred action" official government policy for undocumented students in the United States who would be eligible to earn legal status under the DREAM Act.

The DREAM Act, currently pending in Congress, would create a path to legal immigration status for children born outside the United States who were brought here illegally before the age of 16. In many cases these individuals are unaware of their undocumented status until they graduate from high school and attempt to apply for college. Though the United States is the only home they have ever known, they live in fear of deportation.

Until Congress moves to pass the DREAM Act, there is something that can be done. "Deferred action" is a status the federal government can grant to halt deportation, based on the merits of an individual's case. DHS has granted this status on an ad hoc basis to undocumented students, as in the recent case of Harvard student Eric Balderas. Other young people, such as Saad Nabeel, have not benefited from similar relief, with devastating consequences. Brought to the United States at a young age by his family, Nabeel was a student at the University of Texas at Arlington when he was deported to Bangladesh earlier this year.

President Obama has called for a comprehensive approach to immigration reform that emphasizes American values of fairness and compassion. In a recent address, he expressed his support for the DREAM Act and said: "We should stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents by denying them the chance to stay here and earn an education and contribute their talents to build the country where they've grown up." The Department of Homeland Security has expressed its interest in concentrating enforcement efforts on the "worst of the worst." In April, Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who cosponsored the DREAM Act in the Senate, sent a letter to Secretary Napolitano urging her to adopt deferred action as a "common-sense, practical solution" while the bill is pending in Congress. NAFSA applauds them for their leadership and joins them in calling for a policy of deferred action for DREAM-Act-eligible students.

With nearly 10,000 members, NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the world's largest professional association dedicated to international education. For more on the efforts of our global community of advocates speaking out in support of the DREAM Act and other international education issues, visit NAFSA's online home for grassroots advocacy, Connecting Our World.

SOURCE NAFSA: Association of International Educators