President Stephen C. Ainlay and other leaders of schools that make up the New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium have sent a letter to U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko expressing their concerns about President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA).
The letter states:
We write to express our deep concern about President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). That program benefits some 800,000 young people for whom the United States is home, and who are valued and productive members of our society, as students, employees, community members, and taxpayers.
As presidents of institutions that increasingly reflect the remarkable diversity of our country, we witness daily the tremendous benefit that the presence of immigrants brings to our communities. DACA beneficiaries have been outstanding students on our campuses; their presence has enriched the learning environment for all of our students. We fear that the end of DACA will make our campuses, our communities, and our country less successful and culturally robust.
We hope you will support swift legislative action to codify the principles of DACA so that those who qualify for its protections may live in this country free from the fear of deportation, enabling them to continue to contribute to the economic and cultural well-being of our nation.
We are proud to be part of upstate New York communities that have embraced immigrants and refugees from all corners of the globe for many decades. They are our students, our colleagues, our neighbors, and our friends. Supporting legislation to retain the protections of DACA “will ensure that America remains a beacon of liberty and the most hopeful society this world has ever known (George W. Bush).”
Sincerely,
Stephen Ainlay, President
Union College
Brian Casey, President
Colgate University
William Fox, President
St. Lawrence University
Philip Glotzbach, President
Skidmore College
Gregory Vincent, President
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
David Wippman, President
Hamilton College