“The University admits qualified students from all around the globe,” said Kevin Galvin, director of news and media relations, in an interview with The Crimson in June. “We believe that the diversity of talent and experience which our students bring augments the teaching and educational experience at Harvard.”
University President Drew G. Faust has openly advocated for the DREAM Act, including writing a letter in support of the legislation to Mass. Rep. Michael E. Capuano in May 2009 and meeting with recently elected U.S. Senator Scott P. Brown in part to urge him to support the DREAM Act.
As part of a trip to Washington, D.C. this week, Faust met with Illinois Sen. Richard J. Durbin to discuss the Act and share her appreciation for his support for the proposed legislation.
“These young men and women are working hard in school and are dedicated to a future living in and contributing to our communities or serving in the military,” Faust said in a statement released yesterday. “I believe it is in our best interest to educate all students to their full potential.”
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
On Aug. 2, the Cambridge City Council passed a resolution calling upon the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to halt the removal of immigrant students.
The resolution was authored by Harvard Divinity School student Christopher C. Hope, who has also been involved at the metropolitan level with the Student Immigrant Movement, a Mass. student group that advocates for equal rights for immigrant students.
“The Student Immigration Movement has been encouraging different affiliates and people to go to Sen. Scott Brown’s office to bring the issue to the forefront,” Hope said. “My attitude is that we have work to do—we have unfinished business in protecting and helping our children receive adequate education in this country, immigrant or non immigrant.”
OPPOSING VIEWS
While some Senate Republicans have argued that Reid’s announcement is a ploy to gain Hispanic votes in the upcoming November election, other organizations, such as NumbersUSA, are confident that the advocacy will lead to an unfruitful end if the bill remains worded as is.
Roy H. Beck, president of immigration reduction group NumbersUSA, said that the DREAM Act is not written “to deal with people that they claim it’s for,” and will not solve the problem of companies hiring illegal immigrants.
“It creates a panic, wide amnesty instead of a narrow amnesty,” Beck said.
Whether or not the DREAM Act is passed, the recent discussions have brought to light the way immigration policies affect students.
“We can allow a generation of immigrant students with great potential and ambitions to contribute more fully to our society and our national security,” said Durbin in a released statement on Wednesday, “or we can relegate them to a future in the shadows, which would be a loss for us all.”
—Staff writer Xi Yu can be reached at xyu@college.harvard.edu.