To the UMB Community:

I last wrote to you about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in September, when President Trump announced he would begin dismantling the program that allows undocumented residents brought to the U.S. as children to remain in the country. The president gave Congress a March 5 deadline to find a legislative solution addressing the immigration status of these “dreamers.”

While Congress has thus far failed to find a legislative fix for DACA, dreamers have gotten a stay on today’s deadline, with two federal courts blocking the Trump administration from withholding renewals for those who currently have DACA protection, and with the Supreme Court declining to take up the White House’s appeal of the injunction. (New applications for DACA status, meanwhile, ended with the program’s termination last fall.)

This reprieve for hundreds of thousands of dreamers is good news, of course, but the fight to assure permanent protection for America’s dreamers is far from over. We are continuing to work with Maryland’s congressional delegation to develop just and humane immigration policy. We are advocating that dreamers be able to live, work, and study without fear and without punishment — that they may continue to enrich this state and this nation, as they’ve done for many years. You may join this fight by writing to Sen. Ben Cardin and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, and to your U.S. representative.

I again urge all DACA students and employees concerned about their status to contact Amy Ramirez, director of international services, for guidance. She can be reached at 410-706-7488. Additionally, you will find DACA resources here, and we’ll continue to update this page in response to requests for additional materials. 

I understand that the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida last month may have shifted our attention from DACA. But we would be wrong to let one tragedy eclipse another. And I know we have the capacity to fight many battles at once. I hope you will join me in raising your voice for our dreamers and advocating for courageous, compassionate action on their behalf.

Sincerely,

Jay A. Perman, MD
President