UC applauds announcement of grants to support California DACA students

The University of California applauds the announcement today (Sept. 13) that the Mission Asset Fund, with support from the Weingart Foundation, will provide $500,000 in grants to cover the cost of renewing the applications of UC, California State University and California community college students under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The Mission Asset Fund, a Bay Area nonprofit that works to build financially sustainable communities and families, will distribute the funds in the form of $495 grants to cover the renewal application fee for students whose DACA permits expire on or before March 5, 2018 and who are applying for a renewal.

Starting today, UC students in need of financial support for their DACA renewal applications are urged to apply for a grant on the Mission Asset Fund’s website, http://lc4daca.org/. Grants will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, so students should submit applications as soon as possible — even if they have not yet completed the DACA renewal application — so that funds can be made available to them before the Oct. 5, 2017 renewal deadline. The online application requires only that students answer a short questionnaire and provide proof of their DACA work permit.

UC has approximately 4,000 undocumented students, a substantial number of whom have DACA. In a letter to the UC community sent Tuesday, UC President Janet Napolitano and all 10 UC chancellors strongly urged DACA recipients whose permits are set to expire between Sept. 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018, to apply for a two-year renewal. Applications for renewal must be completed by Oct. 5, 2017.

Last Friday, the University of California filed suit in federal court against the Trump administration for violating the rights of the University and its students by rescinding the DACA program. The lawsuit asks the court to set aside the Trump administration’s rescission of DACA because it is “unconstitutional, unjust, and unlawful.”

The Weingart Foundation is a private, nonprofit grantmaking foundation that supports nonprofit organizations throughout Southern California.