NSHE Supports DACA Program in Supreme Court Case

The Nevada System of Higher Education has joined more than 130 other higher education institutions from 31 states supporting the University of California System in its case for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

NSHE is joining an Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court) Brief by the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration in the case of the Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The lawsuit stems from a decision by the President of United States in September 2017 to rescind regulations for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Brief supports the position of the University of California, as well as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and private citizens, challenging the President’s decision.

NSHE Chancellor Thom Reilly and all eight presidents of NSHE’s public higher education institutions joined with higher education leaders across the nation as part of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. The Alliance was formed to urge legal protection for undocumented “Dreamers” brought to the United States as children.

“We are steadfastly united to support our immigrant, undocumented, and international students,” Reilly said. “When the DACA program was rescinded many of our students and families were left trying to navigate within an area of uncertainty around their provisional residency status. This has created extreme anxiety among our students and their families, many of whom are our neediest students who already face financial hardships.

“NSHE stands united in wanting a welcoming, supportive, and inclusive environment for all our students,” Reilly said.

The chancellor explained NSHE is a minority-majority public higher education system with 100,000-plus students, and with one institution, UNLV, ranking as the most diverse university in the nation.

The amicus brief lays out three arguments in support of the DACA program, including that DACA has allowed tens of thousands of students access to higher education; DACA students add immense value to higher education campuses; and the rescission of DACA will harm higher education on campuses across the nation.

Oral arguments before the Supreme Court in the case are scheduled for November 12.