DACA Ruling

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to thank every member of the West Valley-Mission community for your individual and collective efforts to stand firm and provide care, mentoring, protection, and more to our DACA students. Your efforts have truly been a lifeline to our Dreamers, and were finally bolstered by some progress at the federal level.

Last Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could not immediately end the program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which protects people brought to the United States as children by shielding them from deportation and letting them work. It provides many of our students respite from the fear of being deported and the chance to pursue their educational dreams.

As I shared shortly after the election, our students were struggling with the possibility that their lives and educational aspirations would be dramatically altered should the DACA program be ended by President Trump. We have many DACA and undocumented students at West Valley and Mission who needed our support throughout this difficult time, and our faculty, staff, and administrators rose to the occasion. I know that we will continue to be there for them.

Our community of educators has always found a way to champion our Dreamers even when they have been cut out of federal programming, as most recently demonstrated by the campuses with the new CARES legislation. And, we will continue to do so.

This victory is important, but it may not be the end, as the case was determined largely on procedural grounds. The district will continue its work with our elected representatives and educational partners to preserve this important program, and I encourage all of us to continue fighting for our students in our classrooms, our communities, and beyond.

Respectfully,

Bradley J. Davis
Chancellor
West Valley-Mission Community College District