Syracuse University is following a national trend of colleges developing additional financial aid opportunities for undocumented students, amid growing uncertainty surrounding the DACA program.

Chancellor Kent Syverud, in a speech last week, said SU remains committed to supporting members of campus affected by changing federal immigration policy.

His remarks came days before the federal government careened toward a shutdown, as lawmakers clashed over immigration policy and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

“I believe it has never been more important that we as a university, and as a community … embrace the ideal that we remain open and welcoming to the whole world,” Syverud said.

As part of that commitment, the university announced last semester that a committee of faculty and administrators would develop a campaign to pay for a new legacy scholarship for DACA/undocumented students, funded by SU’s endowment.

Colleges across the United States have helped lead the charge in advocating for the DACA program, experts say.

Christian Smith, an organizing associate with the Center for American Progress, a progressive public policy organization, said there are many private scholarships available for DACA students or students that could qualify for DACA benefits. But a few colleges have also set up scholarships for undocumented students, much like the idea SU has announced.

Emory University pulls from existing college funds to “make up for” the aid the state of Georgia does not give undocumented students, said Hannah Finnie, a senior policy and communications associate at the Center for American Progress. Georgia bans undocumented students from receiving in-state tuition.

George Mason University, a public college in northern Virginia, has also recently set up a similar endowment-funded scholarship, Smith said, “to make up for the fact that they were going to continue enrolling DACA students … (and) they still couldn’t charge them in-state tuition rates, given state laws.”.

Former President Barack Obama’s administration introduced the DACA program in 2012. It gave amnesty to undocumented immigrants who were brought into the U.S. as children.  

At present, amid a government shutdown that is expected to affect major federal agencies starting Monday, Senate Democrats refuse to compromise with Republicans over a spending bill without the inclusion of certain immigrant protections. The DACA program is set to end on March 5.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions last September announced a phase out DACA. About 800,000 young adults are estimated to be affected by the program.

Professor Michael Olivas, the William B. Bates Distinguished Chair of Law at the University of Houston’s Law Center, said most university presidents in the U.S. have announced their support of the program.

“These kids are terrified, most of them live with their parents,” Olivas said. “And now the government knows where their parents live.”

Syverud last week also said SU has reactivated the Ad Hoc Committee on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)/Undocumented Students. The chancellor also announced that Dolan Evanovich, Senior Vice President for Enrollment and the Student Experience, and committee members will hold one-on-one meetings with students affected by changing immigration policy this semester.

Published on January 21, 2018 at 8:54 pm

Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek