Student Union
Dreamers Happy But Wary About SCOTUS Ruling
Young undocumented immigrants, higher education groups and college officials praised the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects those young people from deportation.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has allowed young immigrants — who have been in the U.S. since childhood but lack legal status — to work and study without the threat of deportation since 2012 by executive order of then-President Barack Obama. These immigrants are also referred to as Dreamers.
The highest court in the U.S. decided that the administration of President Donald Trump improperly ended these immigrants' protection by executive order in March 2018.
“For far too long, Dreamers have been held political hostage, unable to make long-term decisions about their education, jobs, or serving in the military,” " according to a statement from American Council on Education President Ted Mitchell.
The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act would have given certain people brought to the U.S. as minors a path to legalization. Despite numerous introductions in Congress, the Dream Act has failed to pass so far.
TheDream.US, a higher-education organization that provides college scholarships to dreamers and DACA recipients, said in a statement that students’ stories are especially powerful after the Supreme Court’s ruling.
This week TheDream.US featured "Mia" of the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and "Sara" of California State University-San Bernardino as “DREAMers of the Week.” Both DACA recipients were identified by first name only because of safety concerns.
"I didn't ask to be brought here, but it happened, and I'm thankful because this country is amazing," said Mia. DACA "allows undocumented people to do things right. Ending the program will not stop immigration, it will only cause it to be illegal."
Mia stated that she wants to establish a business, become her own boss, and buy a home.
TheDream.US has provided more than 5,000 college scholarships to dreamers at 70 partner colleges in 16 states and Washington, D.C.
“Sara” is working toward a degree in nutrition and food sciences. She said she wants to work in a hospital as a clinical dietitian before applying to graduate school to obtain a master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics.
Her parents, she stated, “immigrated to the United States with nothing but the hope that their children would have the opportunity to receive a better education and a better life. … My whole life and all of my memories have been here and I don’t know anything else.”
The Supreme Court's decision did not judge whether DACA is legal or illegal. It ruled that the Trump administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how agencies make regulations and how they may rescind programs.
Trump tweeted that he promised to submit “enhanced papers” to end DACA.
“The Supreme Court asked us to resubmit on DACA, nothing was lost or won. They 'punted,' much like in a football game (where hopefully they would stand for our great American Flag),” Trump tweeted.
The Supreme Court asked us to resubmit on DACA, nothing was lost or won. They “punted”, much like in a football game (where hopefully they would stand for our great American Flag). We will be submitting enhanced papers shortly in order to properly fulfil the Supreme Court’s.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020
Other critics also took issue with the Supreme Court’s decision on social media.
“How can you have an illegal DACA order signed by OBAMA then have to follow the 'law' to rescind such order?” @1bluifox said.
How can you have an illegal DACA order signed by OBAMA then have to follow the “law” to rescind such order?
— D. P. (@1bluifox) June 25, 2020
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, also thinks DACA is “unlawful and unconstitutional,” and said the Supreme Court’s decision only delays ending the program.
“The Trump administration must continue its vigorous and effective enforcement of America’s immigration laws, including securing the border and rejecting any other form of amnesty that will encourage even more illegal immigration,” according to a statement from the organization.
Yongbin Chang, a DACA recipient studying at the University of California-Berkeley School of Law, said although he felt happy about the Supreme Court's ruling, he is concerned by Trump’s promises to submit “enhanced papers” to rescind the program.
“It’s good news, it’s surprising news, I’d say. It makes me feel more comfortable for the near future, but I also know there’s a lot of work ahead of us," Chang said, who moved to the U.S. from South Korea with his parents when he was a 3-year-old.
"And also, the Supreme Court’s position wasn’t super-firm. It was good, but it doesn’t promise anything permanent,” he said. “I still have concerns."
Despite Trump’s promise to end the DACA program, U.S. Representative Linda Sanchez of California said she doesn’t think it will happen.
“There is so much bipartisan support across the country to give Dreamers a permanent solution and allow them to stay," Sanchez said during a webinar about DACA sponsored by the Los Angeles Community College District.
"I think it will be terribly, terribly unpopular for him to try to dismantle the DACA program. ... It would certainly motivate a lot of our community to come out and vote,” the Democratic congresswoman said.
But Sanchez acknowledges that the 700,000 DACA recipients — who must renew their protections and work permits every two years — remain in danger of losing their protection.
“We continue to pressure the Senate Republicans and the White House to follow our lead and to make H.R. 6, which is the Dreamer and Promise Act, the law of the land," she said. "We don't want any more excuses, we don’t want any more poison pills, we want that piece of legislation to get passed."
See all News Updates of the Day
Tips for first-year international students in the US
Book your flights right away, get a U.S. phone plan, make sure you have linens for your dorm and attend orientation – that’s some of the advice international students have for first-year college students coming from abroad.
U.S. News & World Report compiled helpful tips for students studying in the United States for the first time. (July 2024)
Survey: Social integration, career prep are important to international students
A recent survey of international students in the United States found that before starting school, they were concerned about personal safety, making friends and feeling homesick.
Inside Higher Ed reports that international students want specialized orientations, peer connections, career preparation and job placement to help make their college experiences successful. (July 2024)
US advisory council ends Nigeria visit, signs student exchange deal
Members of a U.S. presidential advisory council have approved a student exchange deal between an American college and a Nigerian university as part of the council's effort to strengthen collaboration on education, health, entrepreneurship and development between Africa and Africans living abroad.
The council also visited a health facility supported by the United States Agency for International Development in the capital.
Nigerian authorities and visitors chatted with members of the U.S President's Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement as they toured a healthcare facility in Karu, a suburb of Abuja, on the last day of the council's three-day visit to Abuja and Lagos.
The facility is one of many supported by the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, to improve the management of childhood illnesses, family planning, immunization and delivery.
The tour was part of the council's effort to promote African diaspora-led investments in technology entrepreneurship, education and healthcare delivery.
"They're doing a phenomenal job there, it really gave us a sense of what the healthcare system is in Nigeria," said Deniece Laurent-Mantey, executive director of the advisory council. "This is our first trip as a council to the continent and we chose Nigeria for a reason — the diaspora in Nigeria is very active, very influential, and they're really a source of strength when it comes to our U.S.-Africa policy. And so for us coming to Nigeria was very intentional."
The council was created by President Joe Biden in September to improve collaboration between Africa and its diaspora in terms of economic and social development.
Akila Udoji, manager of the Primary Healthcare Centre of Karu, said officials in Nigeria were pleased that the council members were able to visit.
"We're happy that they have seen what the money they have given to us to work with has been used to do, because they have been able to assist us in capacity-building, trainings, equipment supply and the makeover of the facility," Udoji said.
Earlier, the council signed a deal for a student exchange program between Spelman College in the southern U.S. city of Atlanta and Nigeria's University of Lagos.
Laurent-Mantey said education exchanges are one of the council's top priorities.
"In Lagos, we had the president of Spelman College — she's also a member of our council — she signed an agreement with the University of Lagos to further education exchange programs in STEM and creative industries between those two universities," Laurent-Mantey said. "And I think for us it's very important, because Spelman College is a historically Black university, and so here we are promoting the importance of collaboration between African Americans and Africans."
In March, the advisory council adopted its first set of recommendations for the U.S. president, including the student exchange initiative, advocating for more U.S. government support for Africa, climate-focused initiatives, and improving U.S. visa access for Africans.
The council met with Nigerian health and foreign affairs officials during the visit before leaving the country on Wednesday.
American Academy of the Arts College announces closure
The American Academy of Art College in Chicago announced it would be closing after 101 years of preparing students for careers in art and illustration.
WTTW news reported that like other art colleges, the academy saw enrollment drop after the pandemic, and officials made the decision to close the college last month. (July 2024)
5 killed, dozens injured in clashes over Bangladesh jobs quota system
At least 5 people were killed and dozens injured in two separate incidents in Bangladesh as violence continued Tuesday on university campuses in the nation's capital and elsewhere over a government jobs quota system, local media reports said quoting officials.
At least three of the dead were students and one was a pedestrian, the media reports said. Another man who died in Dhaka remained unidentified.
The deaths were reported Tuesday after overnight violence at a public university near Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka. The violence involved members of a pro-government student body and other students, when police fired tear gas and charged the protesters with batons during the clashes, which spread at Jahangir Nagar University in Savar, outside Dhaka, according to students and authorities.
Protesters have been demanding an end to a quota reserved for family members of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971, which allows them to take up 30% of governmental jobs.
They argue that quota appointments are discriminatory and should be merit-based. Some said the current system benefits groups supporting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Some Cabinet ministers criticized the protesters, saying they played on students' emotions.
The Bengali-language Prothom Alo daily newspaper reported that one person died in Dhaka and three others, including a pedestrian, were killed after they suffered injuries during violence in Chattogram, a southeastern district, on Tuesday.
Prothom Alo and other media reports also said that a 22-year-old protester died in the northern district of Rangpur.
Details of the casualties could not be confirmed immediately.
While job opportunities have expanded in Bangladesh's private sector, many find government jobs stable and lucrative. Each year, some 3,000 such jobs open up to nearly 400,000 graduates.
Hasina said Tuesday that war veterans — commonly known as "freedom fighters" — should receive the highest respect for their sacrifice in 1971 regardless of their current political ideologies.
"Abandoning the dream of their own life, leaving behind their families, parents and everything, they joined the war with whatever they had," she said during an event at her office in Dhaka.
Protesters gathered in front of the university's official residence of the vice chancellor early Tuesday when violence broke out. Demonstrators accused the Bangladesh Chhatra League, a student wing of Hasina's ruling Awami League party, of attacking their "peaceful protests." According to local media reports, police and the ruling party-backed student wing attacked the protesters.
But Abdullahil Kafi, a senior police official, told the country's leading English-language newspaper Daily Star that they fired tear gas and "blank rounds" as protesters attacked the police. He said up to 15 police officers were injured.
More than 50 people were treated at Enam Medical College Hospital near Jahangir Nagar University as the violence continued for hours, said Ali Bin Solaiman, a medical officer of the hospital. He said at least 30 of them suffered pellet wounds.
On Monday, violence also spread at Dhaka University, the country's leading public university, as clashes gripped the campus in the capital. More than 100 students were injured in the clashes, police said.
On Tuesday, protesters blocked railways and some highways across the country, and in Dhaka, they halted traffic in many areas as they vowed to continue demonstrating until the demands were met.
Local media said police forces were spread across the capital to safeguard the peace.
Swapon, a protester and student at Dhaka University who gave only his first name, said they want the "rational reformation of the quota scheme." He said that after studying for six years, if he can't find a job, "it will cause me and my family to suffer."
Protesters say they are apolitical, but leaders of the ruling parties accused the opposition of using the demonstrations for political gains.
A ruling party-backed student activist, who refused to give his name, told The Associated Press that the protesters with the help of "goons" of the opposition's Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami party vandalized their rooms at the student dormitories near the Curzon Hall of Dhaka University.
The family-of-the-veterans quota system was halted following a court order after mass student protests in 2018. But last month, Bangladesh's High Court nulled the decision to reinstate the system once more, angering scores of students and triggering protests.
Last week, the Supreme Court suspended the High Court's order for four weeks and the chief justice asked protesting students to return to their classes, saying the court would issue a decision in four weeks.
However, the protests have continued daily, halting traffic in Dhaka.
The quota system also reserves government jobs for women, disabled people and ethnic minority groups, but students have protested against only the veterans system.
Hasina maintained power in an election in January that was again boycotted by the country's main opposition party and its allies due to Hasina's refusal to step down and hand over power to a caretaker government to oversee the election.
Her party favors keeping the quota for the families of the 1971 war heroes after her Awami League party, under the leadership of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led the independence war with the help of India. Rahman was assassinated along with most of his family members in a military coup in 1975.
