Illinois Tech President Alan W. Cramb Advocates for Undocumented and International Students in New Op-Ed

The work that the federal government has started to do with regard to immigration this year is a good start, Illinois Institute of Technology President Alan W. Cramb and his two fellow co-chairs of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration say, but more needs to be done—by both the government and higher education.

Cramb and co-chairs Nancy Cantor, chancellor of Rutgers University-Newark, and Louis Caldera, a senior advisor for the Presidents’ Alliance and the former president of the University of New Mexico, wrote an op-ed published in Inside Higher Education on Monday, March 22, that highlights the steps that they say that government and higher education leaders need to take as they advocate on behalf of undocumented and international students.

The Presidents’ Alliance is composed of United States college and university leaders who are dedicated to increasing public understanding of how immigration policies and practices impact their students, campuses, and communities. The Presidents’ Alliance supports policies that create a welcoming environment for immigrant, undocumented, and international students on campuses across the country.

While highlighting legislation including the Senate Dream Act and American Dream and Promise Act, Cramb and his co-chairs write, “Now is the time to go further and to deliver on a host of immigration policy reforms that will move forward our student populations and our communities, while advancing the core mission of our institutions. Now is the time for higher education leaders to continue to engage and speak out on such topics, in full recognition that getting immigration policy right at the local, state, and federal level is essential for the future of higher education and our national competitiveness.”

You can read the full op-ed online at Inside Higher Ed.

Photo: Illinois Tech President Alan W. Cramb