DACA students
Unsplash

DACA recipient college students are now in limbo following the pronouncement that they do not qualify for the Education Department relief package, according to a recently published article.

What is DACA?

DACA means Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and it was created during the administration of former President Barrack Obama. They exist is to protect children of undocumented immigrants from deportation.

This program also helps the DACA recipients to have jobs in the country. However, this program is now on the edge of possibly being terminated. In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument regarding the legality of the program.

DACA Recipient College Students Do Not Qualify for a Relief Package

The federal government has allotted an amount of $6 billion to colleges and universities that will be distributed to students who were negatively impacted by the global pandemic. The distribution of education relief was done last month.

The fund was part of the CARES Act that was signed into law by Pres. Trump in March this year. However, many DACA students do not qualify to receive financial aid. In a FAQ released by the Education Department, it says that only students who are eligible for federal financial aid can receive the CARES Act funding.

One of the affected is the California Community Colleges which is consists of 115 colleges and the largest education system in the country that serves an estimated 70,000 undocumented students in which many of them are under the DACA program.

Eloy Ortiz Oakley, California Community Colleges Chancellor, said in another report: "The Department of Education ignored the intent of the CARES Act to give local colleges discretion to aid students most affected by the pandemic, and instead has arbitrarily excluded as many as 800,000 community college students."

She also mentioned: "Among those harmed are veterans, citizens who have not completed a federal financial aid application, and non-citizens, including those with DACA status."

Moreover, the news release also added that students without a high school diploma or GED, and students who are still in high school do not qualify for education relief as well.

California Community Colleges Filed a Lawsuit

There were many instances in the past where there was an attempt to terminate the program. This time, the California Community Colleges filed a lawsuit to the Education Department Secretary Betsy DeVos over the implementation of the education financial relief.

Additionally, the three Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter to Secretary DeVos urging her to change the guidelines which for them is harmful, unauthorized, and significantly restricts the flexibility of the emergency relief to the students.

Sen. Patty Murray said in a report: "Secretary DeVos pushing DACA recipients, undocumented students, and other vulnerable students out of needed relief from the CARES Act is cruel. This virus doesn't discriminate when it comes to the students who are impacted, and our response absolutely shouldn't either."

Meanwhile, the Education Department did not give any comments about the litigation. The Education Department spokeswoman Angela Morabito instead said: "The CARES Act clearly ties eligibility for this funding to Title IV eligibility. Congress could have chosen to include DACA students and other foreign nationals in the legislation, or granted the Department the authority to send this money to noncitizens, but they did neither of those things."

Read related articles: