In a press conference this morning, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced President Trump’s plans to end a President Obama-era executive action that shields young undocumented immigrants from deportation. The executive action is called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. It also is commonly referred to as the “Dreamers” program.

FAU has 169 students currently enrolled at the university who may be affected by this decision. In announcing an end the DACA program, the Attorney General said the federal government will no longer accept new applications from undocumented immigrants to shield them from deportation, but about 800,000 current beneficiaries of the program nationwide will not be immediately affected.

The university administration is extremely disappointed by this development and frustrated Congress did not act earlier to agree on a long-term solution.

In December last year, I added my name to a large number of higher education leaders in defense of this program. Since 2012, DACA has helped more than 741,000 young people whose families came to this country seeking a better life. More than 400 of my colleagues nationwide signed a letter to take a stand against ending DACA.

As I’ve stated many times, the environment of diversity and inclusion we have cultivated across our six campuses is one of the most unique and wonderful aspects about FAU. We stand together in celebration of our differences, and we value every member of our faculty, staff and student body.

We join Gov. Rick Scott in urging Congress to promptly enact legislation that will protect our students and the other “Dreamers.”