September 7, 2017
Dear VLS Community,
This week the Trump administration announced plans to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that, since 2012, has enabled more than three quarters of a million undocumented immigrants to legally live, work and study in the United States without fear of deportation. Brought to the U.S. as children, DACA recipients are often described as Dreamers. They have jobs, attend college, and pay taxes.
Vermont Law School stands with the Dreamers firmly and unequivocally against any policy change that would threaten the ability of these students to achieve their educational goals, their dreams, on the VLS campus or elsewhere in the United States.
I encourage anyone in our community affected by the White House’s decision to terminate DACA to take advantage of the support available at VLS. Staff Attorney and Professor Erin Jacobsen, who practices immigration law in our South Royalton Legal Clinic, invites community members, including your friends and loved ones, to contact her with DACA-related questions. Dean Shirley Jefferson’s door in the Office of Student Affairs and Diversity is likewise open. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Dean Jefferson or to me or any member of the VLS leadership team as we continue to monitor the situation and consider next steps.
Thomas McHenry
President and Dean, Professor of Law at Vermont Law School
164 Chelsea Street, P.O. Box 96, South Royalton, VT 05068
T: 802-831-1237
