Campus Compact stands with the DREAMers. We do so for several reasons.

First, as an organization of colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education, we see every day the contributions DREAMers are making on our campuses and in our communities. The DREAMers, with their willingness to stand up for what is right even at great personal peril, embody precisely the kind of brave citizenship we seek to cultivate in our students.

Second, the right to continue to live in the only country one has ever known is an aspect of the equal human dignity with which we are all endowed. The Declaration of Independence begins its argument with the assertion that “all men are created equal.” The value of equality stated in the Declaration is enshrined in our Constitution’s promise of “equal protection of the laws.” The commitment to equality at the core of our shared national values demands that we enforce on others only those laws we would be willing to accept for ourselves. None of us would wish to be subject to exile from our communities and our country without having ourselves committed any offense.

Finally, our country cannot afford to drive away nearly one million young people on a positive path. By definition, those protected under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals do not pose a threat to public safety. By definition, they are pursuing—or have completed—their education or uniformed service. We have collectively invested in the education of these young people, whose average age was six when they joined our communities. To push all of the human capital represented by the DREAMers outside our borders would be an attack on our own economic and social future.

We celebrate the DREAMers participating in our programs on campuses across the United States. We call upon our public officials to ensure that these young people can stay in perpetuity in the United States and contribute fully as members of our communities.