Kent Fuchs, president of the University of Florida, and Mariana Castro, a UF senior majoring in biology, urged policymakers to allow undocumented young Americans protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program "to continue pursuing their dreams here in America."
Castro worried that "my days in this country may be numbered" following President Trump's decision to revoke DACA, and called on Congress to "stand on the right side of history" by passing new legislation.
"A DREAM act would allow 2 million young Americans the opportunity to further their careers and their educations," she wrote. "It would provide not only relief but also a pathway to citizenship.
"We are not asking for a hand out, we are asking for an equal opportunity to succeed and pursue our dreams," she continued. "I don’t just feel American, I am American."
Fuchs wrote in support of Dreamers.
"Many years have been invested in Mariana’s education and the education of other young people like her, and deporting them represents a major loss of unrealized human potential and benefit for our local communities, states and nation," he said. "Such an action also contradicts America’s stature as a nation that gains its strength from its faith in all people, including those not necessarily born on its shores but who show every sign of contributing to its success and prosperity."