Edhat StaffBy Anthony E. Beebe, Superintendent/President of SBCC
I am saddened this morning that the President of the United States is not honoring the executive order that created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). As a DACA student, you should know that none of this is of your making. It is not your fault, and you are the innocent one in all of this. You were brought to this country as a child and you did not have a choice in the matter. You have since been through considerable and unnecessary emotional distress, and we know this has not been easy for you. You are here at Santa Barbara City College because you want to better yourselves and contribute to the only country and community that you know — this country and this community.
As the Chancellor of the California Community College system said in a message, “Ending DACA is a heartless and senseless decision that goes against American ideals and basic human decency. Those who are affected by this decision were brought to this country as children and are pursuing an education and making contributions to their communities. Some have served in the armed forces defending this country. In California, we don’t put dreams — or Dreamers — on hold. The California Community Colleges remain committed to serving all students, regardless of immigration status and to providing safe and welcoming environments in which to learn. We will do all within our power to assist students affected by this decision, and we will advocate tirelessly in Congress for a permanent resolution to this issue.”
Santa Barbara City College supports the Chancellor’s statement! I know I speak for the college trustees, faculty, staff, and administrators in telling you that we are united in support of you and that together, we will get through this. You should know that Barbara City College:
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Will not allow federal immigration officials on campus absent legal authority;
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Will not act on behalf of federal agencies to enforce immigration laws or aid in deportation;
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Does not share student records containing confidential information without written consent, a court order, or other legal mandate; and,
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Our college security will not participate in any voluntary program of immigration enforcement.
As more information becomes available, we will ensure that our students and campus community are informed and supported.
As always, we will go forward together.
Resources
· Statement from California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley
· California Community Colleges – Resources for Undocumented Students
I don’t mean to be insensitive, but the vast majority of executive orders are blatantly unconstitutional, including the one that illegally “authorized” DACA. I don’t really support Trump, but I can’t fault him for refusing to honor a former President’s illegal order. Executive orders are only supposed to apply to internal matters of the federal bureaucracy, not create national immigration policy, or ban guns, or any of the other abuses of authority our Presidents have been committing & getting away with for years.
So, SBCC “will not allow federal immigration officials on campus absent legal authority” and “will not act on behalf of federal agencies to enforce immigration laws or aid in deportation.”
Without getting into any of the DACA business itself, it would appear that SBCC is blatantly breaking the law by refusing to cooperate with federal officials. Is there something I’m missing?
Good.
Yourfakereality – No “gun ban” has been signed by executive order, just a ban on sales to the mentally ill. Why imagine presidential oversteps and fail to mention Trumps Muslim Ban? Maybe you are more of a Trumper than you claim.
So the brilliant minds at our local city college who know all about community planning and being a good citizen by sourcing students from all over the world to do what amounts to basic university prep are now going to show us how we should all be more accepting… We all should just give educations to people who should qualify for international tuition rates. But you know… now they are citizens so again we can pay for that expense too. And wait for it. I should feel bad because I don’t want to pay taxes for people to enter the country illegally and take advantages of the services we all pay for and into. This constant rebellion to a national election was humorous at first but at this point its annoying. The desire for social justice snowflakes to make the world more tolerant is now a justification for the intolerance of national sovereignty and law. We have failing infrastructure all over the place and these idiots want to talk about making the world more fair for people who break the rules. Insane.
All DACAS’s should receive automatic citizenship once they end it for good.
Totally agree. It’s the tax payers that pay for free tuition for these kids. Why not just give everyone free tuition then. You can’t pick and choose who gets free shit. We pay for it not the self righteous president of sbcc that wants to defy federal laws. We should be more angry at our lazy senate and congress for not passing any frickin immigration reform for decades
These are people that were brought here as children, they too will or do pay taxes. You are not paying for them anymore than they are paying for you. Why the name calling? Your desire to play victim at the hands of children who just want to serve and be part of the only country they have known is troubling. These people did not choose to come here anymore than you chose to be born here. I’d rather live in a place with more tolerance and compassion but I’m stuck here with you. Insane.
sounds like a bunch of political paper tiger posturing. If it ever came to a dust up between SBCC and ICE ICE would do as they please and all SBCC could do is protest and ask for donations.
This “Daca” status makes a sad and sorry joke of all the LEGAL immigrants who came here after jumping through many hoops, spending a lot of money and waiting, patiently, IN TURN, before being allowed to come here.
And they all pay full foreign tuition and that bothers no one here.
This is outright unfair and sickening and nobody ever talks about what LEGAL immigrants have had to do to get here !
I fail to see why you should get preferential treatment AND free tuition to top it all simply because you have been breaking the law for the longest of time.
I wish this “well meaning” Chancellor would argue to apply what he sees as “American ideals and basic human decency. ” to tax evaders and tax cheats.
It would work this way : the longer you evade (or cheat on) your taxes , the less you are prosecuted and not only that but you also get dispensed from ever paying any more taxes ..
Thank you, Dr Beebe and SBCC for taking this stand. As a former teacher myself, I understand the public good in having a educated community members. It appears that many of the commenters – so far – are not well informed about who the DACA population is and how much they contribute to our society. I do understand and agree with some of the concerns about immigration, but I believe there are better ways to address some of those problems. Ending DACA is not the answer.
And NOT ending DACA is unfair to :
The US citizens AND
All the MILLIONS of “legal” immigrants who have gone to great pain, time and expenses to come here LEGALLY.
And NOT ending DACA just creates a huge “appeal” to all those law BREAKERS to come here even more numerous, knowing that : as soon as they are here they are protected by so called “well meaning” citizens who ENCOURAGE and CONDONE and JUSTIFY law breaking and who , more over give them all those freebies that every one else pays for.
That’s your sense of “fairness” ??
It’s not mine ..
One solution to this whole mess is for us to help make Mexico a great place to live and earn real money, that’s the main reason they come to the U.S. Their government takes everything from them leaving them in poverty and they end up risking their lives to come here. What would you do if you made a dollar a day?? I’m not ok with illegal immigration or the fact that we give out free shit for breaking the law but what if we could help Mexico rise up out of poverty we could end then need for them to escape to this country.
You fail to say, where and how you got your “legal” residency.
This is certainly NOT the way most legal residents get it by just filling a few form and paying a small fee.
And AFTER they become legal they pay full fledge tuition fee, get no preferential treatment.
As far as your claim that they pay $2 Bls in taxes per year : that is just a laughable claim!!
Most hide and declare nothing !
The position one takes on DACA determines whether one is a sociopath, an ignoramus, and has a room temperature IQ. Debate won’t change that.
“Executive orders are only supposed to apply to internal matters of the federal bureaucracy”
No, executive orders apply to EXECUTION of the law. All law enforcement is under the scope of the executive branch, and this includes such things as prioritization of enforcement and whom to prosecute. The title, “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals”, clearly is about execution.
Trump’s supposedly “legal” executive order simply changes enforcement priority … instead of concentrating on criminals, his administration is focused on ripping families apart in order to terrorize brown people.
Dreamers work hard to contribute to society and pay their taxes, thereby subsidizing even the most despicable ignorant racist trash among us.
Laws.
We do : they’re law breakers.
A country who institutionalizes and glorifies law breaking goes downhill very rapidly ..
I’m a LEGAL immigrant and support DACA. I filled out some forms and paid fees, I did not have to join the military or guarantee completion of a college degree just to attain residency!
These kids did not choose to break laws, they live daily with the fear of prosecution. The background checks for DACA are far more strenuous than those for most immigrants. They combined pay $2 billion in taxes every year. They are not receiving a free ride, in fact they are contributing more than average. I do not feel cheated in anyway by Dreamers.
I say bravo to Mr. Beebe and the other leaders protesting this inhumane action. These are people who came here as small children, average age 6 years–many as babies in arms. This is their country. 97% are working or in school or both, they are contributing to the economy. The rationale is legal, but the motivation is racism, pure and simple.
Our society seems to sanction disobeying the law when we don’t like it or have ignored it. Face it, we cannot have this nation continue or to be highly functional if the doors are open to anyone who wants to enter simply doing so. DACA was an attempt to bridge that ignoring of the law. Seriously, we need policy – whether I like it or not – made by our representatives on immigration. We cannot let kids bring in their parents or parents bring in their kids simply because of relations. Even third world countries do not do that, and most of the nations we value do have high standards that go into economic status and potential. So DACA is just code for the first step to no boundaries to the south. I would posit even Hispanic/Latino folks won’t like it if that means every single Venezuelan or Colombian who wants to enter, just can walk in and ask for a green card. We already have significant criminal activity at the border, we complain about school safety and general safety – we need folks to be screened, and better than done before.
To be kind, this DACA thing is another liberal leaning tract, no experience in the realities of economics except school econ, and no awareness of potential consequences. Frankly, I cannot afford for my taxes to go up to support anyone else.
The trash being put forward about the negative economic impact of ending DACA is BS. We all know the DACAs are not going to be removed. We all know that. And Obama tried to push through PACA, allowing the alien parents of US citizens automatic right to remain. No wonder folks hate the idea of any immigration limits or a border wall (whatever its utility is – pretty low). They won’t be honest but want no limits on the cross-border migrations – yes I know it’s down now but if you change things it’ll go back up.
I would love to see the community come together in some sort of collective way to show this sorry excuse for an educator what we think of him. He does not have the right to volunteer local and national tax dollars and grants to people who have not obeyed the law and have had plenty of time to make the necessary corrections. This Beebe fellow has made a career out of bobbing from community college to city college inflating the need for the school well beyond the actual demand of the community and then signing off to screw up another mid level education system and city. We don’t have a place for this man here and he has no desire or concern for our community or the impacts of his mega city college that he seems to think needs to service people who don’t even have proper documentation. Talk about raising the bar…
SBPAUL and SBNATURAL = 1 person.
Immigration through marriage or immediate family is common around the world.
What makes you think America is special in this regard?
How is DACA equivalent to “walking in and asking for a green card”
Kids brought here by their parents now seeking a legal option to remain. They must serve in the military or go to college and even then are only granted a stay on action against deportation.
What kind of monster finds this objectionable?
They pay taxes and are eligible for less financial aid than US citizens. They aren’t being given a free ride.
DACA does require additional screening, isn’t this exactly what you’re calling for?
They are children and adults who were brought here as children.
They aren’t claiming residency by “just showing up” They are applying for residency status by following a set of strenuous guidelines aka a regulated process, exactly what you are asking for.
I’m not sure what you mean by your having “the gumption to consider moving or owning in different countries”?
I am an immigrant, a legal one. I have lived in other countries and experienced immigration from both sides. Once again, No DACA applicant is “just showing up and asking for education and welfare” they are seeking a path to legal residency.
Decency and compassion are common around the world as is racism and small mindedness. America is not special in either respect.
At least DONTCHAKNOW seems to be paying attention. The other whiny bigoted comments show no understanding of what DACA is at all.