Latitudes: What to Know About the Future of DACA

The Biden administration announced new rules to protect undocumented students, but the program remains under threat. ADVERTISEMENT [Latitudes Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. A new rule, but longstanding challenges The Biden administration last week released a long-awaited rule to shore up the [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals]( program, or DACA, which has provided legal protections and work authorization to more than 700,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. While the regulation was welcomed by immigration advocates, including many in higher education, it’s far from the final chapter in the fight to give legal status to Dreamers, as those affected by DACA are known. I jumped on the phone with Miriam Feldblum, executive director of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a group of college leaders who push for policies that support immigrant, international, and refugee students. We talked about what the new rule does (and doesn’t) do, legal and legislative fights over undocumented students, and what action colleges can take. First, the new rule reaffirms the status quo but does not expand DACA or provide new benefits. That’s because a major goal of the rule was to try to shore up the program against legal challenges, Feldblum said, in particular a [ruling]( by a federal judge in Texas last year that DACA was unlawful because, in part, it was put in place not through regulation but by executive action. The rule-making was an effort by the Biden administration to run the existing program through the regulatory process, to dot every “i” and cross every “t.” The narrow regulation was a disappointment to many advocates who would have liked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to widen the program. For one, DACA now protects a smaller share of undocumented students from deportation than it did when the program was begun, in 2012, because fewer can meet eligibility requirements. To qualify, applicants had to come to the United States by June 2007 — meaning that today’s college freshman would have had to arrive by the age of 3 or 4. The Presidents’ Alliance and the New American Economy, a think tank, have [estimated]( that less than half of undocumented college students qualify for DACA. Feldblum said she understood the administration’s approach of hewing to what was already in place. “They did it very carefully,” she said. Still, the rule is unlikely to end legal challenges. Retroactively going through the regulatory process may not be enough to satisfy the judge in the Texas case, who has scheduled a hearing later this week. Critics could also file lawsuits to delay the new rule, which is scheduled to take effect on October 31. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2020 blocked former President Donald Trump from abruptly ending the program, calling his actions “[arbitrary and capricious]( But the decision did not rule on DACA’s underlying legality, and immigration experts expect that the court could accept another case on DACA. If so, the current more-conservative majority of justices could vote to scrap the program. In a talk at the University of California at Los Angeles on Monday, Ur M. Jaddou, a top Homeland Security official, said the Biden administration “[would be ready]( if DACA were overturned. The continuous legal tussling has left many undocumented students with deep uncertainty about their futures. As one [told me]( “I am exhausted. I’m constantly living in fear not knowing what my future is going to hold.” But all the action won’t be in the courts. As Jaddou suggested, the administration may be able to take measures, such as strengthening and streamlining work authorization for undocumented young people. The fight will also once again focus on Congress, although past efforts at immigration reform, which included improving DACA, have faltered. With the possibility of a Republican takeover of Congress in the midterm elections, the window for action is narrowing, Feldblum said. Supporters could try to expand DACA eligibility criteria or institute a more permanent path to residency or citizenship. Anything that happens will probably be the result of a narrow compromise, not comprehensive action, Feldblum said. “It’s not optimal but what is feasible, doable, and needed.” Colleges can do more to support undocumented students. In addition to advocating for policy changes, college leaders can take steps on their own campuses to aid undocumented students. For example, those without DACA lack work authorization, meaning that they often miss out on the hands-on work experiences during college that are widely seen as giving new graduates [a leg up in the job market](. Colleges can expand work-based educational opportunities like fellowships and internships that don’t require employment authorization. Such career-preparatory experiences could also benefit [international students]( who face visa-based restrictions on off-campus work. ADVERTISEMENT Work begins on a national qualifications framework The United States could be getting its own version of the Bologna Process. A group of educators, credential evaluators, employers, and nonprofit groups has begun drafting a [qualifications framework]( a system that categorizes different educational credentials and what learning they represent. Unlike the more than two-decades-old [Bologna Process]( an effort to synchronize higher-education systems across the then-new European Union, the current effort would define credentials within the United States. A framework is needed, in part, because of the rise of new certificates, badges, and microcredentials in addition to traditional degrees, said Margit Schatzman, president of Education Credential Evaluators Inc. and chair of an advisory board for the effort. It would help employers understand the skills and knowledge of job candidates and aid colleges in assessing the prior learning of returning students. “It could make the transfer of qualifications more transparent,” Schatzman said. “It’s one more thing that helps articulate the value of qualifications.” Although the framework is being created for a domestic audience, Schatzman said, it could also have international-education implications. More than 100 countries or regions already have qualifications frameworks, so it could help more easily translate the value of American degrees and credentials around the globe. Having a system in place could also ease the comparison of credentials earned overseas in the American context — something Schatzman said has recently been an issue when working to evaluate the educational backgrounds of refugees. Schatzman said the group hopes to have a draft model by the end of the year, building on previous work on qualifications frameworks, such as an [effort led by the Lumina Foundation]( in several states. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. Foreign-language faculty jobs take a hit Foreign-language professors were among the faculty positions to see the largest job cuts during the Covid-19 pandemic. Tenure-track positions in foreign languages, literature, and linguistics were among the five areas in which faculty jobs saw the greatest declines from 2020-21 to 2021-22, according to the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. The number of such jobs dropped by 5.5 percent. The short-term decrease is notable, but I’d be most interested in long-term trends. After all, colleges had begun to [cut foreign-language programs]( well before the pandemic. Among staff positions, jobs for interpreters were among those that saw the greatest increases. [You can read more about college hiring trends from my colleague Audrey Williams June](. SPONSOR CONTENT | London Metropolitan University [The hidden costs of recruiting international students]( Around the globe Three professors accepted settlements and resigned from UCLA’s dentistry school after they allegedly solicited unauthorized fees, on top of tuition costs, from international graduate students, the Los Angeles Times [reports](. More foreign leaders educated abroad earned their degrees in the United States than in any other country, according to a new “[soft power]( index. Canadian universities reported [record surplus revenues]( during the pandemic, thanks in part to strong stock-market returns. The Hong Kong student activist Joshua Wong, held in prison for more than a year under a controversial China-drafted national-security law, has [pleaded guilty](. Supporters of an international student at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities who has alleged she was raped by a Chinese billionaire have had their social-media posts [censored]( in China and said that they feared retaliation for speaking publicly about the case. Anhui province, in eastern China, is canceling degree programs that don’t have [high employment]( for graduates, and more local governments could follow suit amid high youth unemployment in the country. A top South Korean university plans to do away with [academic majors]( instead allowing students to study in broader interdisciplinary programs. Most university vice chancellors, or college presidents, in Australia [outearn]( the country’s prime minister. Legislation in Nigeria would bar public officials from sending their children to [college overseas](. American colleges hold eight of the top 10 spots in the latest [Academic Ranking of World Universities]( otherwise known as the Shanghai ranking. As geopolitics intrudes on academe, the laboratory and the classroom are becoming “[terrains of struggle]( one researcher writes. For background, here’s [my piece]( on potential restrictions on international collaboration and the consequences. ADVERTISEMENT And finally … Wondering what’s next for study abroad and global partnerships? Tune in this Thursday for a [virtual forum]( sponsored by The Chronicle and the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education. I’ll be joined by a panel of experts from Australia, South Korea, and the United States to discuss the pandemic’s immediate impact on student mobility — and what its lasting imprint could be. The webinar will be held on September 1, at 5 p.m. EDT. It’s free, but [registration]( is required. If you can’t make the session, please sign up, and a link to the recording will be sent to your in-box. Thanks for reading. I always welcome your feedback and ideas for future reporting, so drop me a line, at karin.fischer@chronicle.com. 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