House Democrats, in a separate letter on Monday, also asked DeVos to undo her restrictions on how colleges and universities could distribute the emergency grant aid to students. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and 72 other Democrats wrote that DeVos’ limits on the emergency funding for students “goes against the broad language of the CARES Act and the congressional intent of providing help to all students.”
“In this extraordinary time we should not be dividing students based on immigration status or unduly limiting aid,” the House lawmakers wrote in the letter. “This pandemic has upended the lives of all students from coast to coast, and colleges and universities should have the flexibility to help those in need.”
The dispute over whether undocumented students can access the emergency stimulus funding comes as the U.S. Supreme Court reviews President Donald Trump’s 2017 decision to end the DACA program.
Higher education leaders had specifically asked the Education Department for advice on whether they could use the money to assist DACA recipients. But DeVos’ guidance surprised some college leaders because it was far narrower than they expected.
„It is absurd that Democrats want to send U.S. taxpayer money to noncitizens, especially given how many American students are in need of this emergency relief,“ said Angela Morabito, an Education Department spokesperson. „Colleges and universities have the freedom to help their DACA students, they just cannot use U.S. federal taxpayer dollars in order to do so.“
Aides to DeVos have said that her guidance is consistent with the economic relief law.
Source: politico.com
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