Northern Arizona University president signs pro-DACA statement

Northern Arizona University President Rita Cheng this week added her name to a list of more than 450 U.S. college and university presidents who have signed a statement in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and students who are undocumented immigrants.

"Access to education is very important to President Cheng on both a personal and professional level, and her commitment can be found at every institution she has served," NAU spokeswoman Kim Ott said Friday.

Arizona State University President Michael Crow was the first Arizona university president to sign the statement, which originated at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., on Nov. 21. 

Maricopa Community Colleges Chancellor Maria Harper-Marinick was the second, and Cheng the third. 

DACA students at NAU

Students in the DACA program, also known as "dreamers," are young undocumented immigrants without serious criminal records who were brought to the U.S. as children and, after registering their personal information with the government, can receive federal work permits, a Social Security number and a two-year reprieve from the threat of deportation.

President Barack Obama created DACA as an executive action in 2012. President-elect Donald Trump has said he will "immediately terminate" it.

There are four DACA students on the NAU campus in Flagstaff and 14 on extended campuses throughout the state, Ott said.

"Nothing at NAU has changed and rather than speculating about policies that might or might not change in the future, we will continue to maintain our commitment to accessible and affordable higher education," she said.

'They represent what is best about America'

The statement says that DACA "should be upheld, continued, and expanded" and that the issue is "both a moral imperative and a national necessity."

The program has provided "critical benefits" for students and "highly positive impacts on our institutions and communities," the statement says.

"DACA beneficiaries on our campuses have been exemplary student scholars and student leaders, working across campus and in the community," it says. 

"America needs talent — and these students, who have been raised and educated in the United States, are already part of our national community. They represent what is best about America, and as scholars and leaders they are essential to the future."