Kalamazoo's three college leaders make statement on DACA

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—After U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Sept. 5 that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals order—DACA—would end in six months, the leaders of Kalamazoo's three institutions of higher education collaborated on a message of support to DACA students and a call for a legislative solution to the issue.

Below is the text of a statement jointly issued by the presidents of Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Western Michigan University.

To our campus communities:

Our hearts go out to all DACA students, and we stand committed to the idea that their success as students and members of our community enhances the success of each of our respective institutions.

This is a community that cares deeply about education and the role it plays in realizing the American dream. Students, we support your efforts to inform your fellow students and our communities of your plight as you face the possibility of losing the status you have gained under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals order.

Support for the retention of DACA as a way of showing our nation's compassion and basic sense of fairness crosses party lines and is steadily growing among Americans from every walk of life. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch and several other Republican leaders urged President Trump not to end the program. On the other side of the aisle, Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has called on her colleagues to protect dreamers and "shield families from separation and heartbreak."

With growing and heartfelt support for DACA protections and the widespread dismay at the idea of losing DACA, we believe the time has come for Congress to legislate a solution. This is an opportunity for all to make their views known and work with their elected representatives.

We are proud of all of you, student dreamers, for your courage and for using your voices to make the cause personal and more understandable to those around you. Our campuses are better places for your efforts.

Edward Montgomery
President, Western Michigan University

Jorge G. Gonzalez
President, Kalamazoo College

Marilyn Schlack
President, Kalamazoo Valley Community College

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