Charlotte, NC – In an op-ed for the Charlotte Observer, Rabbi Judy Schindler, Associate Professor of Judaic Studies and Director of the Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice at Queens University of Charlotte, presents the debate over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program as a choice for legislators and President Trump: support – or shatter – the dreams of young immigrants:
My colleagues at universities across our city share stories of DACA successes. Our undocumented Charlotte grads are enrolled in law school, in MBA, MPA, and PhD programs. They are working at international companies, at banks, at museums, in government positions and beyond. Yet the anti-immigrant rhetoric and real threats posed to their status this past academic year shook our DACA students to their core. Students wept in my office as they foresaw their educational and professional opportunities disappearing and feared deportation.
Schindler goes on to express the need for a permanent legislative solution for Dreamers, and makes political and moral arguments for the Dream Act, introduced by S.C. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin:
This act would add economic value to America. Dreamers would earn their legal status by completing high school, remaining law abiding, learning English, and either serving in the military, attending college or being gainfully employed for three years. In doing so, they would contribute much-needed tax revenues, defend our country, and with college degrees, contribute essential skills to the economy.
Politically, this act is popular. About 78 percent of Americans and 73 percent of those who voted for Trump support allowing these young people to stay permanently in the US.
Morally, this act enables undocumented youth to be treated justly and to be safe. These young people are not law-breakers. To punish them for crimes they did not commit is unfair.
To read Schindler’s piece in its entirety, click here.
