On November 1, the University joined 19 other schools in filing an amici curiae brief challenging the federal government’s planned nullification of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. 

 “DACA students enrolled at amici institutions are some of the most gifted and motivated young people in the world…. The government’s action therefore threatens amici’s ability to attract and educate the most talented individuals and so undermines their educational missions,” the report said. 

Additionally, third-quarter lobbying disclosure documents filed with Congress reveal that the University spent $45,279 on lobbying efforts relating to the DACA controversy, among other federal issues. President Robert Zimmer and Provost Daniel Diermeier also issued a public letter to President Donald Trump emphasizing the importance of the DACA program in early September. 

 DACA is an executive order issued by former president Barack Obama in 2012 which grants undocumented immigrants who entered the United States before the age of 16 a work permit and two-year renewable protection from deportation. The dispute over the implementation of DACA has grown with Trump’s opposition to the program. 

 The other university co-signers include Brown University, California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Emory University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, Princeton University, StanfordUniversity, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University.