President Trauth signs letter supporting Senate action on Dream Act

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
Office of Media Relations
February 5, 2018

SAN MARCOS – Texas State University President Denise M. Trauth has joined at least 10 other Texas university presidents/chancellors in co-signing a letter from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) to U.S. Senator John Cornyn urging his support for bringing the Dream Act (S. 1615) to a floor vote before February 8.

In joining the other signatories, Texas State supports normalizing the status of deserving young people brought to the United States as children — often through no choice of their own — who have graduated from U.S. high schools and met the same rigorous academic requirements as their college-bound peers.

“Dreamers are valued members of the Texas State student body and help enrich the higher education experience for the entire university community,” Trauth said.

The letter outlines economic consequences for continued inaction by Congress on the Dream Act and the plight of the more than 800,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. Texas, with 141,000 DACA recipients, stands to lose $6.1 billion annually from the economy if those individuals are deported.

Recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, Texas State is the largest university so designated in the state, with a student body more than 30 percent Hispanic. Texas State ranks among the top 20 universities in the nation for the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanic students. As such, Texas State is well situated to provide DACA recipients with postsecondary opportunities and help them become productive contributors to society.

About Texas State University

Founded in 1899, Texas State University is among the largest universities in Texas with an enrollment of 38,694 students on campuses in San Marcos and Round Rock. Texas State’s 181,000-plus alumni are a powerful force in serving the economic workforce needs of Texas and throughout the world. Designated an Emerging Research University by the State of Texas, Texas State is classified under “Doctoral Universities: Higher Research Activity,” the second-highest designation for research institutions under the Carnegie classification system.