New Education Department Guidance on DACA and Undocumented Youth Great Step Toward Facilitating Success of Students

• 10/20/15

Washington, D.C. — Responding to the release of the U.S. Department of Education’s resource guide to help schools, colleges, teachers, and other personnel support the college and career success of undocumented and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, youth in secondary and postsecondary settings, Tom Jawetz, Vice President of Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:

Undocumented youth—including those with DACA—are members of our communities and our families. They are future business owners, employees, and co-workers. They are future Americans. This country should do all it reasonably can to educate these young people and ensure their success because their success is our success. Additionally, undocumented people are at heightened risk of discrimination and other abuses and undocumented students no less so. Empowering people with knowledge of their rights and the resources to exercise those rights is what a good democratic society does.

Sarah Audelo, Policy Director for Generation Progress, added:
This guide is a great step to help educators and staff support students for academic and career success, to debunk misconceptions about the legal rights of undocumented students, and to ensure that youth are taking the necessary steps to enroll and/or re-enroll in the DACA program. As a previous Generation Progress report quoted in the resource guide explores, among many other issues, the admissions process for postsecondary institutions can be tough for undocumented youth, who face a number of additional hurdles. We hope that Congress, states, institutions, and entire systems of higher education will continue this work to ensure that our undocumented community has the support it deserves.

The following experts are available upon request to speak on this issue:

• Tom Jawetz, Vice President of Immigration Policy, Center for American Progress
• Catherine E. Brown, Vice President of Education Policy, Center for American Progress
• Sarah Audelo, Policy Director, Generation Progress

Related resources:

• Removing Barriers To Higher Education for Undocumented Students by Zenen Jaimes Perez
• States Must Expand Higher-Education Opportunities for Undocumented Students by Zenen Jaimes Perez
• Results from a Nationwide Survey of DACA Recipients Illustrate the Program’s Impact by Tom K. Wong, Kelly K. Richter, Ignacia Rodriguez, and Philip E. Wolgin (Spanish version)
• Assessing the Economic Impacts of Granting Deferred Action Through DACA and DAPA by Silva Mathema
• DACA Helps Undocumented Students Access Higher Education by Sanam Malik
• Undocumented Students Deserve Greater Access to Higher Education by Antoinette Flores
• Infographic: Inside the Labyrinth: Undocumented Students in Higher Education (Spanish version) by Zenen Jaimes Perez

For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, please contact Tanya S. Arditi at [email protected] or 202.741.6258.