Letter to the Editor: USAC stands with undocumented Bruins in light of DACA

We, the UCLA Undergraduate Students Association Council, write to show our solidarity with undocumented students on our campus and across the country in light of the rescission of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

We condemn President Donald Trump’s administration’s termination of DACA and any subsequent attempts to persecute Dreamers, many of whom were brought to the U.S. as children and know no other country to call home. We wholeheartedly oppose this administration’s incessant attempts to destroy the lives of thousands of Dreamers, who have made great contributions to our campus, our state and our country.

It is imperative we recognize that many undocumented individuals have faced and will continue to face the risk of deportation. While we fight for justice for former DACA recipients, we must also amplify the call for immigration reform for those who never had the privilege of qualifying for DACA in the first place.

We will not allow our political system to be monopolized by those who seek to marginalize and disenfranchise the most vulnerable among us. Democracy demands we take action.

Congress should immediately adopt legislation to provide former DACA recipients with a path to citizenship and as a recent Daily Bruin column argued, California legislators need to pass Senate bills 6 and 54, which would collectively declare California a sanctuary state and provide additional resources to undocumented immigrants.

We commend administrators for expressing noncompliance with efforts to cooperate with immigration authorities seeking to deport undocumented students and stating the University will continuing to provide legal and counseling services for these students, but we hope the University of California will stand its ground if the federal government ever chooses to take direct action on our campus.

Our administration often encourages students to combat “bad speech” with “brave speech.” Today, we ask the university to follow suit and use its voice to combat this trend of hate by declaring UCLA a sanctuary campus to provide UndocuBruins with the peace of mind they so deserve in this time of great tumult.

In solidarity,

Arielle Yael Mokhtarzadeh, President

Vivy Li, Internal Vice President

Chloe Pan, External Vice President

Nicole Corona Diaz, General Representative 1

Kayla He, General Representative 2

Justin Jackson, General Representative 3

Divya Sharma, Academic Affairs Commissioner

Nedda Saidian, Campus Events Commissioner

Adriana Hardwicke, Community Service Commissioner

Malik Flournoy-Hooker, Cultural Affairs Commissioner

Zahra Hajee, Facilities Commissioner

Aaron Boudaie, Financial Supports Commissioner

Christina Lee, Student Wellness Commissioner

Sayron Stokes, Transfer Student Representative