FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – More than 22 Valley school presidents are standing behind their Dreamer students, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday that President Trump would do away with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program — known as DACA.
Fresno State currently has 25,000 students and about 1,200 are DACA students. President Joseph Castro says he has their back.
“As President of Fresno State, I stand with each and every one of our students including our DACA students. and I will do all I can to help them succeed.” – Fresno State President Joseph Castro.
Other school presidents — from Clovis Community College to Reedley College and Fresno City College joined President Castro for a press conference on Tuesday at Fresno State.
Deputy Superintendent of Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Kathryn Catania (seen below) one of the educators on hand hopes that Congress moves quickly, and impacts the real of life of students so they can move forward with their education.
“Really just would plead with Congress — both the House and the Senate — to work with all due haste to come up with a transition plan, a permanent plan with the same timeliness that they would want if it were their own students sitting in classrooms today wondering about their future.” – Dr. Kathryn Catania, Deputy Superintendent, FCOE.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was designed to protect those who were brought into the country illegally while they were still children. It will come to an end in six months if Congress doesn’t act to draft a bill to address the issue. Valley educators they will work to find a permanent resolution, actively advocating congress.
President Castro says he and his staff are in regular contact with Valley representatives including Fresno Democratic Congressman Jim Costa, Tulare Congressman Devin Nunes, and Hanford Congressman David Valadao, and will continue to support the passage of the Dreamers Act or similar legislation.
Click below to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
