UC President Napolitano: Decision To End DACA 'Misguided'
OAKLAND (CBS / AP) – University of California President Janet Napolitano has denounced what she calls President Donald Trump's "misguided" decision to end a program protecting immigrants who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children.
Napolitano is urging Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to protect young immigrants from deportation.
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will phase out the program in six months.
"This backward-thinking, far-reaching move threatens to separate families and derail the futures of some of this country's brightest young minds, thousands of whom currently attend or have graduated from the University of California," Napolitano said in a statement. "These youth need our protection and encouragement, and it is incumbent upon Congress to approve legislation that removes the uncertainty caused by President Trump's misguided decision."
Napolitano said she is directing her advisory committee on undocumented students to determine how to best support the university's DACA recipients over the next six months and beyond. She also said UC will continue to offer in-state tuition and other services to undocumented students in the meantime.
"The University of California will continue to stand with Dreamers and their supporters as we fight to keep the program alive," Napolitano said.
Elsewhere, the presidents of the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut State University system joined Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in decrying Trump's decision.
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