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Teach For America Stands With DACA Community

Organization Denounces Administration’s New Restrictions to DACA Program

July 28, 2020

NEW YORK, July 28, 2020—Today, the Trump Administration announced that it intends to limit renewal of protections for current recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to one year instead of two. The administration will also reject new applications as it prepares to challenge the legality of the program. This is only one month after the Supreme Court ruled the administration’s 2017 rescission unlawful due to its “arbitrary and capricious” nature. Teach For America filed an amicus brief in last month’s case and celebrated the Court’s ruling; the organization stands today with hundreds of partners in denouncing the Administration’s proposed changes to DACA.

 

“The Administration’s actions show again why we need a permanent, bipartisan legislative solution that protects and provides a pathway to citizenship for undocumented youth and DACA recipients,” said Teach For America CEO Elisa Villanueva Beard. “These actions run counter to our belief that all children deserve the right to an excellent, equitable education and to pursue higher education and careers without the threat of deportation.” Teach For America urges the U.S. Senate to pass the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 and to include a provision in the next COVID-19 relief bill to automatically extend Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for DACA recipients. 

 

Unequal access to opportunity—including an excellent education—along lines of race, class, and other aspects of identity has deep roots in American history and disproportionately impacts Indigenous children and 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 will serve students, families, and school districts this fall. 

 

TFA is committed to working closely with its educators, school partners, and other organizations to minimize the impact on its corps members and students and will continue to provide its DACAmented corps members and alumni with financial support and legal assistance.

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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 nearly 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