WHEREAS, the American Federation of School Administrators supports legislation protecting federal and state immigration and sanctuary policies for students; and
WHEREAS, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is a federal government program created in 2012 under then-President Obama to allow undocumented children brought to the United States the temporary right to live, study and work in America; and
WHEREAS, the contributions of immigrants historically have been and continue to be crucial to developing and improving the United States economic, cultural and sociopolitical systems; and
WHEREAS,applicants are vetted for any criminal history or threat to national security; must be students or have completed school or military service; and if they pass vetting, action to deport them is deferred for two years, with a chance to renew, and they become eligible for basics like a driving license, a work permit or college enrollment; and
WHEREAS, those protected under DACA are known as DREAMers, and the suffering that these children and youth are likely to face if deported is greater than for others because most DACA recipients have never known life in their countries of origin, with some unable to speak the language of the country of origin; and
WHEREAS, most of the 787,580 DREAMers who have been granted approval range in age from 15 to 36 years of age, are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, with the largest numbers living in California, Florida, New York and Texas;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Federation of School Administrators opposes the repeal of DACA, an immigration policy that temporarily protects certain young, undocumented immigrants from deportation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Federation of School Administrators supports efforts to encourage Congress to pass a legislative alternative to the repeal.