Dear Santa Clara University Community, 

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court preserved the federal DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program, which protects from deportation about 650,000 people brought to the U.S. as children and offers a legal route for work, education, and other forms of civic participation. Santa Clara is pleased to learn of this decision, which  directly impacts our community because our DACA students and colleagues are part of the Santa Clara family. What affects them impacts all of us. 

Santa Clara University has long supported undocumented students and students from mixed-status families, and we will continue to do so. You can learn more about Santa Clara University’s support here, including how to become an "UndocuAlly."

While the DACA program is a humane and practical approach to address one facet of the immigration-policy crisis in America, it is provisional in nature. We also understand that the immigration challenge involves more than DACA. We continue to be concerned about what is happening on the border with family-child separations, children in detention camps, and violence against Latinx and other immigrant communities. When I visited members of Congress earlier this year on a trip to Washington D.C., I advocated for legal protection for undocumented persons and for comprehensive immigration reform so long needed in this country.   

Catholic Social Teaching recognizes that every person has a right to migrate to protect themselves and sustain their families. It also recognizes that while nations may regulate borders and control immigration, they must do so with justice and mercy and with particular attention to the most vulnerable. These are values that all people of faith and good will can share, and they are why we do not hesitate to speak and act now on behalf of undocumented students and mixed-status families.  

If you have a question or concern about today’s ruling, please contact Erin Kimura-Walsh, Director of LEAD Scholars Program, or Ray Plaza, Director of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion.

In solidarity and hope,

Kevin F. O'Brien, S.J.
President