President F. Javier Cevallos expressed support for the Commonwealth’s DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) residents on Tuesday in a message sent out to the Framingham State University community.

“I want you to know that the Framingham State University community supports you and we are going to do anything in our power to ensure the protections offered through DACA are maintained in the Commonwealth,” President Cevallos wrote.

The message was sent following the Trump Administration’s decision to phase out the DACA policy, which protects certain undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, within the next six months.
Framingham State University has setup a resource guide for DACA students that can be found here: http://libguides.framingham.edu/daca.

The complete text of the President’s e-mail follows:

Dear Members of the FSU Community,

I’m writing to you in response to the Trump Administration’s decision today to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy within the next six months. I’m sure there are many of you wondering how this decision is going to impact you, your family or someone you know.

I want you to know that the Framingham State University community supports you and we are going to do anything in our power to ensure the protections offered through DACA are maintained in the Commonwealth.

As many of you know, most DACA students were brought to the United States as children and often have no memory of their native country. This is their only home. As Governor Charlie Baker stated earlier today, DACA students comprise “approximately 8,000 young Massachusetts residents who are right now serving in our military, attending our schools and contributing to our economy while striving to give back to their communities."

I join with other Massachusetts leaders in calling on Congress to take quick and decisive action to find a permanent legislative solution that will maintain protections for the nation’s DACA residents. In the meantime, there is action that we can take at the state level to minimize the impact of today’ decision.

Earlier today, the Council of Presidents for the State University System sent a letter (see attached) to Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg urging immediate legislative action to ensure DACA students living in Massachusetts will continue to qualify for in-state tuition rates, regardless of today’s action by the federal government. Moving forward, I promise to keep you apprised of additional steps we are taking to support DACA students and ways you can help advocate on their behalf.

To those of you who may have questions or concerns about how today’s decision could impact you or your family, I encourage you to contact Dr. Lorretta Holloway, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Development, at lholloway@framingham.edu, or Millie Gonzalez, our Chief Officer of Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement, at vgonzalez@framingham.edu.

Sincerely,

Javier