Kaila White

The Republic | azcentral.com

Arizona State University President Michael Crow issued a strongly worded statement Wednesday afternoon to students, faculty and staff emphasizing the university's "unchanged" commitment to undocumented students.

"It is based on the core principle set forth in ASU’s charter that we are 'measured not by whom we exclude, but rather by whom we include and how they succeed,' " Crow wrote.

"This commitment, particularly as it applies to immigrants, honors the vision of Arizona’s founders," he wrote. "It is an obligation that ASU takes seriously. And, particularly when it comes to immigrants, it is one that I take personally."

Crow has previously lobbied extensively for passage of the DREAM Act, which would provides a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. before the age of 16 and completed high school or earned a GED.

He said that he is adding his name to a list of more than 250 U.S. college and university presidents that have signed a statement in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and offering to meet with U.S. leaders on the issue. He is the first Arizona university president to sign the letter.

"It felt kind of like a little mini-victory," said Belen Sisa, a junior at ASU and DACA recipient who has been heavily involved in political activism.

Crow outlines specific plans

In the email, Crow provided answers to four specific, common questions on DACA students. See his full text below (emphasis is added).

1. The legal status of DACA students has not changed. While there has been much speculation about what might happen, the Arizona Board of Regents’ position that DACA students are eligible for in-state tuition at all three Arizona public universities remains unchanged. There will be no change unless and until the Federal DACA program is changed or the Court of Appeals reverses the Arizona superior court decision that was the basis for the Board’s conclusion that DACA status satisfies the requirements of its existing residency policy. 2. We recognize that DACA students are nevertheless anxious and concerned about their future. Therefore, ASU will make counseling services available to them on a confidential basis. 3. If DACA is eliminated, we will rise to the challenge. ASU is a convening force in the community for good and for change. If students lose the status that makes them eligible for in-state tuition, ASU will convene and engage the community on this issue to seek financial support for the continued study of students at ASU who graduated from Arizona high schools and who are qualified to attend the state universities -- regardless of their immigration status. We have already begun discussions with our DACA scholarship partner, TheDream.US, about using the private dollars that they raise to secure scholarships for DREAMers who have lost their DACA status, should that occur. Even before in-state tuition became a reality, we partnered with TheDream.US on a scholarship program that they established for DACA students enrolled in our online degree programs, and we would hope that will continue. ASU will also provide financial counseling services as needed. 4. In the days ahead, we will continue to work at every level to maintain the great learning environment that ASU has created. Dialogue is essential and we will communicate at multiple levels with various internal and external communities and constituencies about the importance of inclusivity in all that we do.

The "education of all qualified students," including DACA recipients, "is essential to our democracy," he wrote.

Days after hundreds of faculty expressed support

His statement comes less than a week after nearly 1,200 faculty, staff and students from Arizona’s public universities and community colleges signed an open letter asking the schools to protect DACA students.

That open letter noted the "terror" spreading among DACA students and their families in the wake of the election of Donald Trump, who has said he would "immediately terminate" the program.

"In the next semester, we face the prospect of mass arrests, imprisonment and deportation for students who have spent most of their lives in the United States and have been educated in American school classrooms," that letter read.

Surprise at Crow's support

Since Trump's election, Sisa said DACA students "feel like we're almost in a limbo, like we did when we were truly undocumented ... It’s like prepare for the worst but hope for the best."

Crow's statement of support comes as a welcome surprise, if only symbolic, and is a "great first step," she said.

"The only thing we can do is continue on. We’ve been through it before," she said. "We’ve been through Prop. 300, SB 1070; if anything I think Arizona is probably the most prepared state because we’ve been through these kinds of attacks before.

"I think the country is in more of a shock that now they’re turning into Arizona."