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Supreme Court Victory for DACA Recipients Supreme Court Victory for DACA Recipients

Teach For America Celebrates Win for Its 280 DACA Educators and DACA Recipients Nationwide

NEW YORK, June 18, 2020—Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an important ruling that prevents the Administration from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has been in place for the last eight years. Teach For America filed an amicus brief in the case and celebrates today’s outcome. Since 2013, 280 DACA recipients have joined TFA to teach in public schools, where they work to increase student success and to end educational inequity while serving as role models for students.

“Every day, we see our DACAmented educators demonstrate profound courage, resilience, and leadership, and their contributions have never been more important to our country,” said Teach For America CEO Elisa Villanueva Beard. “Today’s ruling affirms that all children deserve the right to access an excellent, equitable education and to pursue higher education and careers without the threat of deportation. And it is an important ruling for communities of color at a moment when our nation is reckoning with its legacy of ongoing racial injustice. We are grateful that DACA recipients can continue to have an impact in the effort to end educational inequity, and we look forward to the day when they have a clear pathway to citizenship.”

Unequal access to opportunity—including an excellent educationalong lines of race, class, and other aspects of identity has deep roots in American history and disproportionately impacts children of color. Since 2013, Teach For America has actively recruited, trained, and supported 280 DACA recipients to combat educational inequity and teach in low-income communities nationwide. These leaders have worked tirelessly on behalf of children to ensure each has access to an excellent education, and are part of the thousands of DACAmented educators across the United States who serve students, families, and school districts daily. TFA’s DACA corps members and alumni are playing an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic as they connect students and families to critical resources while pivoting their own practice to distance learning.

While today’s ruling brings some measure of respite for DACA recipients, it is possible that there could be additional attempts to rescind the DACA program. Given that reality, Teach For America is committed to working with a broad and diverse coalition of partners to advocate for a bipartisan legislative solution that permanently protects and provides a pathway to citizenship for undocumented youth and DACA recipients, such as the DREAM Act.

TFA’s amicus brief argued that the Administration’s action was arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The Court, in a 5-4 decision, agreed with Teach For America’s argument in ruling that the Department of Homeland Security did not lawfully rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, having done so in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner that did not meet the legal standard required to reverse the policy. The Court also issued guidance for the Administration to follow were it to endeavor to rescind the program lawfully.

About Teach For America

Teach For America works in partnership with urban and rural communities in more than 50 regions across the country to expand educational opportunity for children. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding leaders to make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to end educational inequity. Today Teach For America is a force of over 60,000 alumni and corps members committed to profound systemic change. From classrooms to districts to state houses across America, they’re reimagining education to realize the day when every child has an equal opportunity to learn, to grow, to influence, and to lead. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Contact

Rachel Tennenbaum

(408) 250-2877

Rachel.Tennenbaum@teachforamerica.org