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Speak Out for DACA College Students!
Posted on Jul 06 2020
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed by Congress and signed by the president in March, provided about $14 billion for higher education, half of which was to go for emergency aid for college students. Then Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said that no DACA students could receive aid. Members of Congress said she was wrong:
“[T]he leading Democrats on key House and Senate education committees wrote DeVos calling on her to reverse the decision. ‘When we drafted emergency legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress did not place limitations on which students could or should get emergency aid — we simply directed the Secretary and institutions to make funds available to students,’ wrote Senator Patty Murray, the ranking Democrat on the Senate committee, and Representative Rosa DeLauro, chairwoman of the House’s education appropriations committee.
“’The extreme eligibility restrictions, which were added by the Department without any directive from Congress and without any statutory basis, represent an unconscionable response to the virus that does not discriminate against which students are impacted by it,’ they wrote.”
DeVos continued to insist that DACA students would be barred from all aid. In June, she issued an emergency regulation, which has the force of law, ordering colleges not to give any of the CARES Act grant money to DACA students. The regulation went into effect immediately, but with a 30-day comment period. YOU CAN SPEAK UP FOR DACA STUDENTS BY COMMENTING NOW. The comment period ends on July 17.
Your comment can be as simple as “I believe that DACA-status college students are eligible for aid under the CARES Act.” You can write a longer comment, explaining your reasons, or adding information about why DACA college students need emergency assistance during the COVID-19 crisis.
The comment period ends July 17. Just click on this link, and comment now to support DACA college students. Then share this information on social media, and ask your friends and followers to do the same.