Atlanta school districts reassure students after DACA order

Tuesday’s directive by the Trump Administration to effectively end a program legally permitting some residents brought to the U.S. by their parents to stay lawfully lingers heavy at metro Atlanta school districts.

DeKalb County School District Superintendent Steve Green’s thoughts immediately turned to those in his school district who could be affected. He’s the leader of a hugely diverse district, with about 102,000 students who speak 180 different primary languages, often who came to this country with their parents.

“All they know is their experience here in the United States,” he said Wednesday. “The thought that they would have to be deported for something they have no control over creates trepidation.”

He doesn’t know how many of his students are “Dreamers,” the name given to those who have sought legal status through a permit provided through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. There could be some Dreamers among the district’s staff as well.

“It is wrong to eliminate an effective means of providing educational opportunities for children in the name of politics,” he said in a district statement denouncing President Donald Trump’s administration’s move. “The children that will be impacted by this decision do not deserve this result, and are being subjected to an environment where they must fear for their future instead of embracing it.”