As a Catholic university, St. Thomas is committed to promoting and respecting the dignity of all human persons. In so doing, we must relentlessly strive to be a community of inclusion, compassion and accompaniment. There is no place here for racism, bigotry or hate.
We also stand up for the vulnerable, and today we stand with our DACA students. We will advocate for a permanent fix to our nation’s pressing problem and will ensure our current DACA students’ financial aid to attend St. Thomas is not diminished.
The University of St. Thomas was founded by Archbishop John Ireland to provide access to education for children of immigrant families. We stand united with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other college and university presidents across this nation and call on our congressional delegation to provide permanent protections for DACA students and employees across the nation.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda, leader of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, earlier this week issued a statement that eloquently noted how the 800,000 people who benefit from the DACA program “help all of us to ‘dream,’ and that our society would be weakened without them.” I certainly share that sentiment.
