UC Davis students protest against TPS termination, UC lags behind
This past Wednesday, a group of UC Davis students participated in a march through campus to express solidarity for undocumented immigrants supported by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States. TPS grants temporary immigration status to people of certain countries that are in times of war or under other extraordinary stress, but on Nov. 6 Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke made an announcement that compromises the future of this act.
The termination of TPS designated for Nicaragua means that after January 2019, thousands of undocumented Nicaraguan immigrants will be forced to leave their jobs and homes in the U.S. Duke questioned the designation of TPS for Honduras, and it remains very possible that its designation will be revoked after its TPS expiration date of July 5, 2018. This decision does not only affect Nicaraguans. It creates an air of uncertainty for the future of many undocumented people, leaving thousands of immigrants from other TPS-designated countries apprehensive as to whether or not their countries’ statuses will be renewed upon expiration.
Pulling TPS out from under thousands of immigrants living in this country and dangling the possibility of revocation in front of thousands more is consistent with the Trump administration’s dismantling of immigration policy.
What’s different this time, however, is that the University of California has done little to express discontent with the adverse TPS changes. When the administration released plans to rescind DACA, UC President Janet Napolitano was first to the scene, expressing her bold response against rescinding DACA and her support for beneficiaries of the act. With the chilling news of certain countries losing their TPS, there has been no such outcry from the UC system. Regarding DACA, Napolitano said the fact that students have to be “thinking about possible deportation is wrong on the law, inconsistent with our value and bad immigration policy.” Where is this same fervor when it comes to students directly affected by TPS?
The Editorial Board questions whether actions in support of DACA were taken because the UC believes in the benefits provided by DACA and TPS, or because they were an effort to uphold a personal legacy. Napolitano was instrumental in creating DACA when she was the secretary of Homeland Security in 2012. If the rights of immigrants in America are being questioned yet again, the UC should once more support those affected.
UC Davis students care about the future of TPS, which was evident in the march that took place on Wednesday. The Editorial Board is in solidarity with the marchers and undocumented immigrants supported by TPS. We encourage students to continue showing support for fellow students who are adversely affected by current and impending immigration legislation, and we urge the UC system to do the same.
Written By: The Editorial Board
