Queens College president calls for inclusion
of DACA students in CARES Act funding
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Queens College President
Frank Wu is urging the inclusion
of Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
recipients in the grants under
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,
and Economic Security
(CARES) Act.
Wu released a statement
on Tuesday in response to the
United States Department of
Education’s interim final rule
on eligibility status of students
at institutions of higher
education for funds under the
CARES Act. Comments on the
rule are accepted by July 17.
The CARES Act provides
fast and direct economic assistance
for American workers,
families and small businesses,
and preserves jobs for American
industries. However, the
Trump administration refused
to allow undocumented
students to receive any of the
federal relief funds provided
by the CARES Act.
“At this challenging moment
in our history, the
CARES Act is much needed. It
would be a shame for this legislation
to prove divisive rather
than unifying,” Wu said.
Citing “profound humanitarian
and moral reasons” to
provide for DACA recipients,
Wu references “a compelling
practical argument” — that
“in study after study, empirical
data overwhelmingly
shows that immigrants, including
those who are eligible
for DACA, contribute more to
society than they take.”
“The premise that immigrants,
documented or not,
create a net economic loss for
the nation is completely false.
Quite the opposite: In the aggregate
and on average, immigrants,
even those who lack
appropriate documentation,
are a plus,” Wu said. “Queens
College professors have offered
evidence for the facts
presented here; their study is
in the appendix.”
Under the most recent Supreme
Court decision, DACA
recipients have a continued
right to remain in the United
States.
Wu said the Department of
Education should consider the
direct and indirect economic
Queens College President Frank Wu is urging Inclusion of DACA Students in the CARES Act Funding. Photo courtesy of Queens College
effects of excluding DACA
recipients from CARES Act
grants.
“Deprived of these grants,
DACA students will be unable
to access the higher education
that prepares them to become
productive members of society,”
Wu said. “However, given
minimal aid, they will not only
avoid unemployment and underemployment,
but they will
also play meaningful roles in
rebuilding sectors devastated
by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to Wu, it’s especially
true in Queens — a borough
that was hardest hit in
the early phases of the health
crisis and, not coincidentally,
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.20 COM | JULY 24-JULY 30, 2020
is populated by many newcomers,
among them “Dreamers”
in families of mixed status.
“Contrary to stereotypes,
people of European and Asian
heritage are heavily represented
among DACA students,
as are people of African and
Caribbean descent; Chinese
who were ‘paper sons’ were
among the original ‘illegal’
immigrants a century ago,”
Wu said. “Whatever their
background, DACA recipients
do well.”
Wu referenced two prominent
graduate students who
arrived in the U.S. without
documentation and dedicated
themselves to improving the
lives of others: U.S. Representative
Adriano Espaillat, who
represents New York’s 13th
Congressional District, and
immigration reform activist
Cristina Jimenez Moreta, winner
of a MacArthur Foundation
Award, the so-called “genius
grant.”
“For role models, our students
look to the college’s
highly accomplished alumni,
credited in a recent study with
contributing $1.5 billion to the
regional economy and holding
leadership roles in every
field,” Wu said.
Queens College students
have traced their ancestry
to nearly 140 countries and
at home speak 83 languages,
Wu said. About a third of the
school’s undergraduates are
foreign born, lending their
perspectives to a campus that
cherishes inquiry independent
thought.
“As an institution that has
educated immigrants and the
children of immigrants since
it was founded in 1937, Queens
College values the Dreamers.
They embody our mission and
reflect the borough we serve
so proudly,” Wu said.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or
by phone at (718) 260–4526.
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