Support for DACA students

Dear students, faculty and staff,

On Tuesday, July 28, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a memo on the status of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) stating that DACA Renewals will only be made for 1 year (instead of 2), no new requests for DACA will be accepted, and no advanced parole will be granted save exceptional circumstances. These developments have followed the June 18th decision by the United States Supreme Court that the administration could not carry out its plan to end DACA.

We are extremely disappointed by this decision, as we know it will impact many of our students and their families, and it runs counter to our longstanding commitment to our undocumented students and their academic and professional future. We extend our support to all of our UIC students who are directly impacted by these policies, whether they are DACA students seeking renewal, or students who were planning to apply for the first time. We will continue to support our DACA students in these uncertain times and to offer UIC resources to help them navigate these changes.

We encourage students to connect with Assistant Vice Provost for Student Inclusion, Tanya Cabrera at tcabrera@uic.edu or 312-355-0011 for more information and guidance and to follow updates through dream.uic.edu. UIC Student Legal Services (dos@uic.edu), as well as the UIC Counseling Center team are also available for assistance. Finally, due to the generosity of our donors, there are some limited funds that can be used by students for DACA renewal fees.

We continue to work with other universities and higher education organizations across the country, as we advocate for a permanent solution for our DACA students.

Sincerely,

Susan Poser
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Robert Barish
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs

Amalia Pallares
Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost for Diversity