The University of California has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for deciding to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
President Donald Trump's announcement to end DACA, which protects nearly 790,000 young undocumented immigrants from deportation, has sparked protest at Penn and other college campuses. The University of California went one step further, filing a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and acting secretary Elaine Duke on Sept. 8.
This is the first attempt by a college institution to contest Trump's ruling on DACA, reported the Los Angeles Times.
University of California's President Janet Napolitano was a key architect of DACA.
"To arbitrarily and capriciously end the DACA program, which benefits our country as a whole, is not only unlawful, it is contrary to our national values and bad policy," said Napolitano, who previously held the role of secretary at the Department of Homeland Services from 2009 to 2013.
The University of California has approximately 4,000 undocumented students, a portion of whom are DACA recipients. Many teachers, researchers and health care providers are also DACA recipients, according to a statement from the University.
They added that it will continue to provide resources and services to both DACA and undocumented students through measures such as allowing students to pay in-state tuition.
The Penn administration has not taken any legal action against the Trump administration, but has made several strong statements against their decision to end DACA.
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