An Important Message from President Napolitano and UC Chancellors About DACA

We write today to share urgent news for those in our community who are in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

On September 5, the Trump administration announced it would end the DACA program, effective March 5, 2018. We strongly disagree with this decision. It threatens the future of many of our nation’s brightest minds, including thousands who currently attend or have graduated from the University of California. We are working hard to protect those who could be affected.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services already has stopped accepting new DACA applications. However, if you already have DACA, and your permit is set to expire between September 5, 2017, and March 5, 2018, you may apply for a two-year renewal.

You must apply for renewal no later than October 5, 2017.

Even if DACA is phased out permanently on March 5, 2018, applying for a renewal no later than October 5, 2017 is the best opportunity to obtain two more years of protection against deportation and legal authorization to work.

We encourage every member of the UC community who currently has DACA to discuss your circumstances with immigration counsel. You may reach the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center here: ucimm@law.ucdavis.edu, or, if you are at UC Berkeley, use this link: https://undocu.berkeley.edu/legal-support-overview/legal-support-appointments/. Together, these offices will be scheduling workshops to assist UC students with renewal applications on every UC campus. Check with these offices or your campus Undocumented Students Coordinator for further information.

With fewer than 30 days before this deadline, we encourage everyone whose DACA permit expires in the next six months to act quickly. And please share this renewal application deadline with others who could benefit.

You may find more information on the renewal process here: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/consideration-deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-process/renew-your-daca

The University of California is working on many fronts to ensure that protections continue for those in our community who, in good faith, joined the DACA program. It is our unequivocal belief that students should be admitted to UC and other institutions of higher education based on their records of achievement and without regard to their immigration status. UC will continue to offer services to our undocumented students, including:

• Continuing to allow California residents who are Dreamers to pay in-state tuition;
• Maintaining eligibility for institutional and State financial aid awards, including loans through the DREAM loan program (although students whose DACA status expires will not be able to continue to use their work-study authorization);
• Offering legal services to our undocumented students;
• Supporting campus-based student service centers; and
• Directing campus police not to contact, detain, question, or arrest individuals based on suspected undocumented status, or to enter agreements to undertake joint efforts to make arrests for federal immigration law violations.

We will continue to keep you updated with relevant news as the situation evolves. One of the best ways to stay informed and access additional resources is through our campus undocumented student service offices: http://undoc.universityofcalifornia.edu/campus-support.html

Sincerely,

President Janet Napolitano
University of California

Chancellor Carol Christ
University of California, Berkeley

Chancellor Gary May
University of California, Davis

Chancellor Howard Gillman
University of California, Irvine

Chancellor Gene Block
University of California, Los Angeles

Chancellor Dorothy Leland
University of California, Merced

Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox
University of California, Riverside

Chancellor Pradeep Khosla
University of California, San Diego

Chancellor Sam Hawgood
University of California, San Francisco

Chancellor Henry T. Yang
University of California, Santa Barbara

Chancellor George R. Blumenthal
University of California, Santa Cruz