Lafayette Joins Amicus Brief in Support of DACA

Dear Members of the Lafayette Community,

Last week, Lafayette College joined 165 other colleges and universities in an amicus brief in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in the case before the Supreme Court.

In September 2017, the administration rescinded DACA, an initiative that provides work permits and protection from deportation for upwards of 700,000 undocumented students, often known as “Dreamers.” In a memo to the community at that time, I wrote: “As an institution committed to providing educational opportunity to talented young people, Lafayette has welcomed a number of DACA students and publicly expressed our strong support for the DACA program…To those of our students who are affected by the planned elimination of the DACA program, I say: Lafayette will do all we can to support you. You are valued members of our community.”

Consistent with that promise, Lafayette has joined this “friend of the court” brief to add our voice to those of many other colleges and universities in arguing for the value of DACA students on our campuses and in our communities. You can view and download the brief at this link: bit.ly/DACAAmicus.

DACA and immigrant students bring great talent and diversity to campuses across the nation, including ours. Our nation and institution have made a commitment to the success of Dreamers, and the continuation of DACA is essential to their educations and futures. I hope that Lafayette’s participation in this amicus brief is helpful to the arguments that will be made in support of DACA in the nation’s highest court in November.

President Alison Byerly