Op-ed: An Open Letter to the CUA DREAMers and Students and Staff in the DACA and TPS Program

 By The Faculty, Instructors, and Staff of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

The faculty, instructors, and staff in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures come from fifteen different countries and four different continents. Although some of us were born here, many of us, like you, have come from somewhere else and have made the United States of America our new home. We live here, we work here, we have our families and friends here and we are part of this community. We would like you to know that we wholeheartedly welcome you on our campus and in our community. Together we make this university, the city of Washington, DC, and this country more diverse, multicultural, and a better place. As members of the Modern Languages and Literatures department here at CUA, we deeply believe that cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity is a strength. We place the importance of cultural encounters and intercultural dialogue at the center of our scholarship and our teaching, because “we may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race” (Kofi Annan, Nobel Peace Prize Winner). As Pope Benedict XVI has said, “closing our eyes to our neighbor also blinds us to God.” You are dear neighbors to us and you belong in our community.