Message from Chancellor Dubois regarding DACA

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Dear Colleagues,

We are assessing how the Trump Administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will affect our University community. We know that our students may be fearful of the future for themselves, family members, or ​friends. We want to support our undocumented students who feel the impact of th​is​ decision and should direct them to resources such as the Counseling Center and ​the ​Dean of Students Office.

As you are aware, DACA has provided young undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors with temporary protected status and work authorization. Starting this week, new DACA applications will no longer be accepted, and renewals, which are required after two years in the program, will soon be discontinued.

UNC President Margaret Spellings has indicated that the General Administration will develop guidance in the coming days for the entire UNC system, based on the input of UNC system institutions.

Three of the major higher education organizations in which UNC Charlotte is an active member — the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities (APLU), the American Council on Education (ACE) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) — have issued statements on the White House action on DACA. I encourage you to read these statements from APLU, ACE and AASCU. 

As President Spellings said in a message yesterday to the chancellors, “[t]housands of people covered by DACA are in the United States working or attending school, striving to become the teachers, doctors, business owners, and good neighbors our country needs. The lives and dreams of these people were never meant to be a political statement — they just want the chance to live openly, honestly, and with certainty in the only home they’ve ever known.”

Thank you all for the roles each of you play in fulfilling the founding vision of this institution: to open access and create opportunities for all deserving students.

Sincerely,
Philip L. Dubois
Chancellor