CHARLOTTE (Oct. 4, 2017) – In response to a student’s pointed question about making education affordable for immigrant students, UNC President Margaret Spellings reaffirms her support for so-called ‘Dreamers’ who stand to lose protections unless Congress acts.
In September, President Trump rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program adopted by the Obama Administration that offered protections for unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. Trump gave Congress until March to adopt legislation extending the protections for young immigrants.
Regardless of DACA, undocumented immigrant students are required to pay out-of-state tuition in both the University of North Carolina and NC Community College systems.
In the accompanying video from the Higher Education Works Foundation’s ‘Aim Higher, Achieve More’ forum, Spellings responds to the student by saying she is part of a coalition urging Congress to settle the uncertainty for the 690,000 young people covered by DACA.1
“I have been outspoken on this issue for a long time … and come from a state (Texas) where in-state tuition is provided to so-called ‘Dreamers,’” Spellings says.
“My heart … I just have real belief in DACA students. I’ve met many of them. And after we’ve invested in them in our K-12 system, many of them high flyers who pursue higher education, I think it’s very smart of us to continue to invest in them in higher education,” Spellings said, prompting hearty applause.
NC House Speaker Tim Moore responded that the issue must be settled by federal officials.
“Quite frankly, I wish the feds would fix this one way or another,” Moore tells the student. “Certainly, my heart’s with you.”
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